Jackie Black, my friend, left me today. He liked to roam the woods and the Farm. He liked to chase small animals and bark at large ones. He was a quiet fellow most of the time. He would come sit next to me when he wanted to be petted. Jackie roamed a little too far away from the house and he won’t be coming back.
Jackie had a quiet presence. One night when the temperatures were rising from a week long stint below 0 and the cold wind was blowing he hopped off the bed and went into the other end of the house. He came back to stand beside the bed then he pattered away only to come back and look at me, the weight of his somber gaze heavy in the wee hours of the morning. After 3 rounds of this I begrudgingly got out of bed and followed him to discover a flood as water poured out from under the bathroom sink. Job done he climbed back into bed and slept while I raced outside to the well to shut the water off then did what I could to mop up the flood.
Jackie liked to greet me when I got home, he would race up the hill as I drove in and would come make sure it was me. He wasn’t there this evening. The other guys were waiting for me, but he was conspicuously absent. I called to him. “Jackie, you come home right now!” Usually, he would bark and head in. Not tonight.
Some time today he roamed too far. He made it to the 4-lane and by the time I found him he was gone. I have no idea what made him wander that far from the house. His journey has taken him far far away now.
I will miss you Jackie! There is an empty space at the foot of the bed.
MrsSmithsLifeUnexpected 