A Stray Friendship

I’m really not an overly sentimental guy. While time and a couple of beautiful daughters have softened me up some, I still don’t get misty eyed over Hallmark commercials or Meg Ryan movies. I guess I never will be that “modern” man who is in touch with his “feminine side”, whatever that means. However, from time to time I will see or hear something that gets to me. Yesterday was one of those days when I felt like I saw something special.

I had just finished gassing up my truck when I noticed a couple of dogs across the road. They were both clearly mutts. They were shaggy and looked like they were probably strays. The first was a medium sized dog. He was not as big as a lab but not too far from it. He had a lot of energy and would run ahead of the other dog before stopping and running back. The second dog was considerably smaller than the first. He might have been the size of a cocker spaniel. One thing I did see was that the smaller dog was not healthy. He was limping noticeably and did not appear well at all. Once the pair reached the side of the road, the smaller dog stopped and sat down and patiently watched his larger more energetic friend sniff around the shoulder of the road.

I don’t know what it was about these dogs that caused me to pause and watch them. I do know I felt some trepidation as I figured they were about to try and cross the road. This particular stretch of road is very busy. It is four lanes wide and, as usual, folks were whizzing by in both directions at fifty to sixty miles per hour. I really hoped I wasn’t about to see them get hurt or killed.

For just a moment it seemed they were going to be content to sit and watch the cars go by. The larger of the two had returned to sit by his friend and I hoped that they would sense this was not a good time to cross the road and go back in the direction from which they had come. That was not to be, however. For no apparent reason, they decided that it was time to cross the road. The pair bolted in unison into the heavy traffic. The smaller dog seemed to know right away he was not going to make it. He got about halfway across the first lane of traffic before he stopped, nearly getting hit by a pick-up truck, and retreated back to the shoulder of the road. The larger dog, apparently not realizing his partner was no longer with him, bobbed and weaved his way through the traffic and somehow managed to cross all four lanes without being hit. I was greatly relieved to see that both dogs were ok and started to get in my truck to leave. It was at this point that things got interesting.

I saw that the two dogs were not going their separate ways after all. They sat on opposite sides of the four lane road looking at each other. The traffic continued to fly by without giving either of them any notice. The larger dog, that had successfully crossed the road moments earlier, began to get antsy. He got up and paced about ten yards in one direction and then the other while looking across the road at his traveling partner. Maybe I am attributing too much human-like emotion to the larger dog but it seemed very clear to me that he was deeply worried about his smaller and less agile friend. I watched intently at what happened next. The larger dog, that had just narrowly avoided being killed crossing this busy road, decided to risk everything one more time. He bolted back into traffic and managed to zig-zag his way to the other side without being hit and took his spot next to the smaller dog. The pair watched the traffic for another minute or so before getting up and going back in the same general direction from which they had come earlier. Once again the larger dog would run ahead as his smaller friend limped along behind. The larger dog would never get too far ahead before stopping and running back to his buddy. I stood and watched them until they were lost from sight in the tall grass of an uncut pasture.

I lingered for a couple of minutes after they were gone and marveled at what I had seen. Words like loyalty, friendship, and honor came to mind. Somehow, it seemed there was more to this than I was fully grasping. I looked around and none of the other half a dozen or so people who were busy filling up their vehicles seemed to have noticed any of the drama that had just transpired. It was almost as if it were a lesson just for me. I wish I could tell you that I have gleaned some kind of great cosmic truth out of this but I haven’t. I can tell you only that I have found myself thinking of this unlikely pair almost continually since yesterday.

Maybe some revelation will come to me and I will come to understand why this incident made such an impact on me. Maybe the lesson is as simple as being a better friend to those I care about. Either way, I don’t think I will soon forget these two friends. I know they were just a couple of stray dogs but in many ways aren’t we all?

My best…