A month ago, a neighbor came by and said her two dogs – a mixed-breed and a Mastiff – had run off into the woods.  For the past few days, Lenore has been turning on the path and barking. At night, Frieda has been barking and looking out the window at night. I sensed something was out in the woods, but often, many things are out in the woods. This felt different to me, but I couldn’t see anything.

This morning, while I was away, Maria took the dogs on the path for a walk. At one point, Lenore stiffened and moved to the edge. Curiously the other dogs, Frieda and Izzy, paid no attention. Almost invisible, Maria saw a small-ish mastiff lying in the dirt and mud. He was emaciated, had porcupine quills embedded in his snout, was weak and could barely get up. She took our dogs back home, returned with a leash. The Mastiff growled at her, but let her put the leash on and slowly and painfully, he made it back to the house. Maria put him in a shed behind the farmhouse, brought him some food and water. She went to our neighbor’s house and they came and got him. He was very happy to see them, and they had been worried sick about him. The second dog had returned two weeks ago.

The dog looked awful and had been living in the deep woods for weeks. This is one of a dog lover’s great fears out here, that the dogs will get out into the woods and get lost. Frieda might handle it, but the other dogs would not.  Hard to think about all these cold and wet nights, and it seemed that he was near the end. But it worked out. We talked about it all day. It felt wonderful to save this creature, and spoke to the rewarding act of helping animals. Aquinas was right, it is a good thing to do, not only for them, but because it helps us become more human. Another hit for the love dog and for Maria.

And happy endings are nice.