Big families are the norm in this part of Texas, but I was an only child. My dog, Lady, had been my playmate—a brother, sister and best friend rolled into one—since I was a smidge under two years old and so was she.
Three-quarters Gordon Setter, one-quarter Rottweiller, Lady had the energy to keep up with my high jinks on the farm and the sense to know when it was time to call it quits and go indoors.
Like when I was about six, she protected me from a stray dog that had wandered on to our property. Lady growled at the dog and pushed me toward the house, never letting up until I was safe. Or the million times she’d warn us before a thunderstorm. She always smelled rain coming a mile away and made sure to get us both home before the skies opened up in a downpour.
My other dog, Buster, was an Australian Shepherd. I loved him, but Buster was all dog. I couldn’t count on him like I did Lady. Nothing bad could happen to me with her around.
By the time Lady and I were 13 in human years, we had our routine down pat. She made her way down to my Nana’s house around noontime to nap on the porch until I got home from school. She knew Nana was the one who picked me up. Lady barked at the car soon she saw us coming up the drive. Then she made a beeline for me.
So the day she wasn’t on the porch, I knew in my heart something was terribly wrong. I turned to Nana. “Did Lady come to your house today?”
“No, it’s funny. She hasn’t been by all day,” Nana said.
“I’ve got to find her!” I jumped out of the car. I ran to my house shouting, “Lady! Lady!” and hightailed it inside.
No sign of Lady anywhere at home. I jumped on my four-wheeler and set across our 42 acres. “Lady!” I called loud as I could. Buster stayed with me, chasing the four-wheeler, not looking on his own. You think this is all a big game, Buster, don’t you? I thought.
Buster had gone missing a year back, and Lady had been the one who’d found him. To this day I didn’t know how she’d tracked him down, caught in a trap, hidden on our neighbor’s land. But Buster was no Lady. He didn’t seem worried, not one bit.
I stopped, turned off the vehicle and glared at Buster. “We’ve looked everywhere. Can’t you see this is serious?” Buster looked at me, wondering why I cut short our game. It wasn’t his fault. “I’m sorry, boy,” I said to him. “I know you’re just a regular dog, but I’m scared Lady is lost for good.”
Buster hunkered down into the dirt. I climbed off the four-wheeler and got down on the ground, scooping Buster up in my arms. “We can’t find Lady by ourselves,” I told him. I lifted my face to the sky and closed my eyes.
“God, it’s Henry Coulter from Texas. I know you gave me Lady to watch over me and keep me company when I was just a little boy. I’m grown now, and I have Buster here, but I still need my Lady. Please show me where she is.” We stayed there a minute, Buster and I, while our prayer traveled up to heaven. I opened my eyes. Buster pricked up his ears.
A yelp! Coming from the front pasture. Buster ran right to it. I was close behind him. Lady was trapped in a hole. She couldn’t climb out. From the looks of it, she’d been there a good while. She was hoarse too. “Girl, you barked yourself out, didn’t you? It’s okay. I’m here now.” I lifted her out and held her in my lap. The look in her eyes told me she’d been waiting for me to come.
Buster leaped around us, just enjoying being a dog. He didn’t understand the deeper things in life. Not like me and Lady. “Remember when you helped me find Buster last year?” I asked her. “Well, I had some help today finding you. Not so much from Buster, but from above.”
I drove Lady back. Buster figured our game had started up again and ran alongside, barking like a regular dog.
Lady slowed down a lot after that. After all, she was 13 times seven in dog years. Yet I knew, even when she moved on to doggie heaven, there would be someone else with me and Buster. A sister, brother, playmate and best friend all rolled into one, who hears your prayers and makes sure you are never on your own. Someone Buster and I could count on. Always (times seven).
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