BarkingProse - Part 17

The Journey Home

by Asher • September 26, 2015

For weeks we’ve been waiting for my puppy to get old enough to leave her home and come to Asherpark.

She was born at Chandrea Farms in eastern Washington, same place I was born. Her father is my stepbrother, so I guess that makes me her half uncle.

When the day finally came to get Journey I begged mom to go with her, but mom said I had to stay home with Shiloh. Something about it being too long a drive and too crazy for the puppy if I was in the car messing with her.

Mom took off by herself to go fetch my puppy. She told me it would be late the next day before she returned, and I should concentrate on finding my old toys for the puppy to play with.

The hours dragged by. I kept looking at the clock. Why couldn’t I hear the car coming up the gravel road. Where were they??!!

And then I heard them. The distinctive sound of mom’s old car turning down our driveway.

I held my breath and said a quick prayer to Tess. I thanked Tess for all the good times we had together and asked her to help me raise my puppy to be brave like her.

When I saw Journey I let out a roar of a bark that terrified her. She ran back into her crate and huddled in the corner.

I felt so bad, I got down on my belly and crawled into her little space. I licked her all over and told her how happy I was that she had come to Asherpark.

I promised Journey I would take good care of her and teach her everything she needed to know. I whispered that I had been waiting for her forever and we were going to be soulmates.

It didn’t take Journey long to forget my big bark. She wiggled out of her crate and jumped on my head. I lay down so she could sniff me all over.

Then Journey ran to the pile of toys I set out for her and grabbed my most favorite tug toy I had when I was a puppy. She wrapped herself up like a princess and gave me a big smile.

I guess you could say it was love at first sight. After all these years, I had my own puppy. The thought of days ahead with Journey at my side brought tears to my eyes. Then she jumped on my head, grabbed a mouthful of fur, and the games began. It’s gonna be a good life, Journey, I promise.

Journey

Our Journey

by Asher • September 24, 2015

I was so excited when mom told me my puppy is a blue merle female. That means she looks like me and everyone will know she is MY puppy.

“What are we going to name her?” I practically shouted in excitement.

For a few moments mom didn’t answer. She stared at me like she didn’t hear my question or she didn’t know the answer.

Then mom knelt down. She looked straight into my eyes and said, “We are going to name the puppy Journey.”

“After I told you we found your puppy, I had a dream,” mom said. “In the dream a voice insisted we name the puppy ‘Journey’ so whenever we speak her name we’ll be reminded we’re on a life journey together.”

“Wow, how fun is that!” I blurted. Then the questions tumbled out of me, a mixture of longing, confusion and delight.

“Will she be anything like Tess?” I asked. “Do you think Tess is coming back to us as Journey? I mean Tess died before Journey was born. Could Tess have made a deal with Journey to come back in Journey’s fur?”

Mom laughed so hard she fell on her butt. That was my signal to pounce on her and lick her face. Pretty soon we were rolling around on the rug playing the lick and tickle game. I slathered mom’s mouth with so much spit she finally called me off but not before I got in one last slurp.

It was good to laugh again and think about the future. The pain of the past will always be with us but with little Journey in our pack, we won’t have much time to feel sorry about things.

I wish I could have seen Journey when she was born, but I don’t think her mama would have let me very close. I may be prejudiced ’cause she’s my puppy, but I think she’s the cutest little bug of a mutt I ever saw.

Asher, Tess

For Me

by Asher • September 21, 2015

Tess sand Ash

She was everything to me. I loved her without reservation. She was my alter ego, my true soulmate. Mom called us the evil twins, and we were.

Tess could do no wrong in my eyes. She had my back. She was my best friend.

I taught her how to play. She taught me how to be strong. When Tess left us, something inside me died. I thought I would never be happy again.

The Twins

The day Tess died was the worst day of my life. I saw her take her last breath. I sniffed her beautiful red fur hoping life was still inside her. But she was gone and my heart exploded.

I did the only thing I could – I ran. I ran from the sight of Tess lying dead on her bed. I ran from the happy memories of me and Tess playing at the beach. I ran from the pain of losing my best friend. I ran away from Asherpark.

I’d dug under the fence before, usually when I got bored and people weren’t paying attention to me. This time was different. I wasn’t running off to have an adventure, I was running away from my old life at Asherpark.

It wasn’t more than a few minutes when mom realized I was gone. I heard her calling my name and whistling for me. I heard her begging me to come home.

Sometimes I lay still so she couldn’t hear my movement. Sometimes I went crashing around barking like a fool. She could hear me in the thick brush near the ravine, but she couldn’t see me.

After about an hour I realized I hadn’t eaten dinner. Me and Tess used to eat side by side in our crates. Now I would have to eat alone. Still, I was hungry and sore from all my tearing around.

I began to hear mom more clearly. She was talking quietly asking me to come to the sound of her voice. I had to fight my way through the blackberries but finally made it to the gate that mom held open for me.

I expected to get a good scolding for running off, but instead mom wrapped her arms around me and told me how much she loved me.

Mom said all our hearts were broken and we would never stop missing Tess, but the awful ache in the gut would eventually fade. Mom told me Tess would have given her life to protect her pack. We had to honor that courage by living well and being grateful for all the good things in our lives.

Mom asked me to remember the day we rescued Tess. She said Tess needed a home and I needed a mate. It was love at first sight and we had six good years together.

Mom promised that in time we would find another soulmate for me. She didn’t know who it would be or how we would find her, but if I could stay strong for a few months there would be someone for me.

The weeks passed. I kept running off but would come back when mom called me. I hung out with Shiloh and went on solitary walks with mom. I knew mom would keep her promise, I just wanted it to be soon.

Finally the day arrived. Mom announced that she had found a puppy from my line. The little girl was born two weeks after Tess died. She is a blue merle and like me has two blue eyes. My new best friend is coming to Asherpark and I can hardly wait.