A New Life

Lost Dog

Time came and went. Lupo left one day. I am not sure where he went. Like I do with all of my dogs, I keep them at the farm. Jasmine's Labrador and Salty had a new batch of puppies, who grew into splendid sheepdogs. Times were never the same though. Lupo was gone. My best sheepdog of all, my wolf of the dog family(And I'm sure the smartest too), was gone.

There were now twenty dogs living at the farm with Jasmine and I. There would be twenty-seven, but Lupo and his batch were gone. A few nights I imagine I can hear him, howling at the moon, or barking squirrels up trees. Of course, it is ridiculous to imagine such things. But I still couldn't help but wonder, is it?

Besides having a farm, I have a pen adjoining to the back of the farmhouse. This is for all of the lost dogs that find my house(there are quite a few, actually!) I give them some food, and then telephone the pet shelter to tell them which ones came. Whatever time of day, there are always some dogs. It's usually corgis and pit bulls, but there have been several German Shepherds, Labrador retrievers, one poodle, a few Rottweilers, some bulldogs, young chow chows, and many other types. We have had practically every breed of dog in the pen. Once or twice I have gotten a family of dogs, but more often only one or two dogs at a time. Sometimes the former owners let me keep them, seeing as they love my farm and that the people cannot afford to keep the dog anymore. It happened once with a family of Siberian Huskies, and twice with Great Danes.

One night Jasmine was cooking the dinner and I was feeding the two old Dachshunds that had come last week. As I was about to go back inside I saw a pair of deep green eyes looking hungrily at the food the two dogs were eating. I poured some more food out for the other animal, and he took a few steps into the light. He looked like he was a very large, clean, proud dog once, but right then he was soaking wet and plastered with mud He chomped down the food, and I looked at his neck and back at the two old dogs. This one did not have a collar, but apparently was not scaring the other two that had collars. I became even more surprised and puzzled when two more muddy dogs with green eyes similar to the first came forward and begged. I heard whimpering in the shadows. I guessed that there were more, but were too scared to come into the light. I poured out more food and stepped inside the house. Jasmine had just finished dinner and was setting it on the table.

"Jasmine. I think there are more dogs out there."

"Did you check their tags?"

"They don't have any. I don't think any of their group do, though I can't be sure."

"How many?"

"At least four. Possibly more. I don't see how they'll all fit in the pen with the two others."

"How big?"

"The ones I saw were the size of a full-grown German Shepherd. But they are really dirty."

"Are the other dogs fine with them?"

"Seems like it." At that moment there was a scuffling at the door, and the first dog nosed it open, but did not step inside. He blinked in the light, and six more dogs stepped up beside him. Jasmine recognized the dogs long before I did. She ran to them and hugged the first one.

"Lupo, oh Lupo!"

Yes, it was true. Lupo had returned and brought his family back safely. He still held a grudge against Arnold, for what reason I did not know for a while. Him and his pack had also safely herded the three dozen white sheep that I owned from the storm a few nights ago, and three more lost dogs a night later; a Salukis, a Pointer, and a Basset Hound.

Jasmine had always loved this pack, especially since her Labrador loved them. They were called, Argento, Dolce, Bello, Grazioso, Forte, Robusto, and of course Lupo. Each was much stronger than an ox, and more fierce than a wolf. Still, some tended more to growl and others less so. Dolce knew how to herd the sheep without a bark or showing her teeth; she just let the sheep imagine that she would rip them to pieces if they stepped out of line. Robusto and Bello herded sheep and other animals using quick, jerky movements. Argento copied Grazioso, Forte and Lupo in growling as fierce as they could, but less motion. They all loved to play with their paws as well as their jaws. One day it did occur to me though.

"Jasmine. These dogs are so well trained. I wonder who stole them."

"I don't know. You could look through the Lost Dogs section in the newspaper."(Jasmine and I use newspapers more than the internet).

I flipped through the adds on dog collars, housing, contests, weekly winners, until I finally got through to the Lost Dogs section.

"Hey, look Jasmine. The dog we gave to the animal shelter found his home." Notices of Dobermans, Chow Chows, Shih Tzus and other dogs were in there. The first of our dogs I found was Robusto in the police dog notices. It dawned on me why Lupo hated Arnold so much. I showed the picture to Jasmine.

"Freckio. We have to get out of here, or at least get the dogs out of here for a while."

"Why?"

"If people saw this notice and then saw our dogs, they would think we stole the dogs. Or, that the dogs are too vicious and give them back to the policemen. And if Lupo tried to stop it, they would take him too. And he is so perfect as a sheepdog. Oh, why did this have to happen?"