Last
Tuesday on a very cold, sunny afternoon with 10 inches of snow and below freezing
temperature, I hobbled out to a play areas on the farm because the dogs needed some action. The dogs and I played for as long as we could
which meant as long as I could tolerate it because it was very cold. When I gave the command “let’s go to the
house” off they all went running through the woods back toward the house. It was close to their dinner time so we went in the
direction of the kennel. As fast as they
could, they galloped through obstacles, each other, hills and dales making it
a race to get back first.
In the kennel,
each dog has their own stall and will stand in front of “their” door and wait until I open the door. I start
on one end, letting each of them in as Dutchess, Meggie, Dahlia and all
the others are safely inside. The last
door is Molly’s stall, it is bigger because she is privileged because she is my
Heart Dog and the oldest. When I got to
her door she wasn't there which is most unusual… “Molly, Molly, MOLLY where are
you”, as I look around.
As
a young father I have been here before when the kids wandered off for just a second, the sudden panic of not being able to
find your child and loved one is pure panic. The fear
of fear runs through your heart and mind and you think the worse or at least I
do but everything always turns out alright and that sudden panic is quickly
resolved when you find them, but this is not the case today. I went to the back door of our house and knew
she would be waiting for me. “Molly,
MOLLY”. She was nowhere to be
found. I searched the entire house and
she always comes to me, always, and now my mind starts to work, but not in a good
way.
Earlier
I remember she ran in another direction, not with the pack and blazing a
different trail which is not is unusual for her. What if she didn't make it to the kennel, what if she somewhere in the woods? She always
comes to me, always… “MOLLY, come here” as I started my trek to find her.
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| Molly...A Mother and family member |
About
4 weeks earlier, my knee went out and after several Doctor Visits and
medications, it still excruciatingly hurts but I had to find Molly and now the
sun was starting to go down. Knowing she wasn't in the house, she had to be outside.
I grabbed a walking stick for balance and off in the 10 inches of snow I
went and in my heart, I know this didn't look good. I had visions of her down in the snow from
an injury or heart problem and this drove my determination even harder but the
questions still popped up in my mind. “Molly……
Molly…… Molly, where are you, MOLLY come on girl.”
My
whole leg hurt and I don’t know if the cold made it better or worse but it hurt
and the deep snow and heavy polar boots made it unbearable because I had to bend my
knee further. After several trips around
the farm on foot and walking the fence line, nothing. “MOLLY…MOLLY…MOLLY”, she has to be somewhere,
good or bad, she has to be somewhere, but where. If she is not outside, maybe she is still in the
house? I searched again, went out the
back door and went in the garage, nothing.
“MOLLY…MOLLY…MOLLY where are you” and I walked around the wrap-around
porch. Nothing so off to the woods I
went again and things looked very dim and so was the weather, it was getting
dark.
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| Clancy and Molly |
I can’t give up, I got to find her
or at least her injured or lifeless body.
“MOLLY…MOLLY, PLEASE MOLLY GIRL where are you?” After a trip around the farm again I need
help and knew it. As I walked back to
the house in the now zero weather, I was freezing but my heart was burning. I was now headed to call my neighbors as soon as
I reached home, It was my last step.
Once to the house, just to double check, I went in the garage for that
last look, nothing, zilch, naught. Our
garage is attached with a utility room and I thought I would cut through to use the
phone to call for help. When I opened
the door, my very frantic black and white heart dog was glad to see me. “MOLLY… you're safe” and bent down on my
throbbing knee and kissed her head and all anxiety flew out the room. As I stood up, she danced a wiggle dance and
put her head on my leg. “Let’s go get warm
girl” and we did. I assume Molly had
gone to the house, gone through the dog door on the garage, pushed her way into
the house through to the utility room and the door shut behind her and she was
trapped. Searching the house three times
and the farmland 4 times, the utility room was the only place I did not venture
because she could not get in there or so I thought.
That
very night when my leg was wrapped and elevated to sooth it, for extra heat and comfort in several ways, I had a black and
white furry companion lying in my lap looking into my eyes and both of us
thought the same thing, "Don't ever leave me" but I know that day will come too soon no matter how far away it is and it will never be forgotten, but "that" night it was only Molly's lap. My Molly Girl…
Ken
See you next week or follow us today on Facebook
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