Jason stared at the Queensland Heeler in the shelter’s kennel.
“This one’s blind,” the volunteer told his parents. “The rancher said he could only keep dogs that could work.”
“Yes, I want this dog,” Jason signed to his parents. “I can be her eyes and she can be my ears.”
© Copyright 2019—Present, Jenise Cook, All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
First Published: The Friday Fix on Medium.com (RIP), 2019 June 16
Republished: FiftyWordStories.com on 2019 September 11.
Image Credit: Kenny Badboy (@cuethecannibal) on Unsplash.com
The Story Behind This Story
Similar to another fifty-word flash story I wrote, this story is also based on a few true events. When Mark and I moved from Big City California to Rural County Arizona, the week before our move we had to say an excruciating goodbye and help our 16-year-old tuxedo kitty Morgan cross over the Rainbow Bridge. Six months after our move, when we were ready to be adopted by a new furry family member, we visited the local Humane Society to adopt a new kitty. Our new kitty turned out to be a dog.
Update: On April 21, 2020, our sweet Miss Mattie McNab, 16 years old, crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. She was old, tired, and ready to go.
Miss Mattie McNab sat in her kennel among the dog runs and captured our hearts. She was a McNab Shepherd and Australian Cattle Dog mix. She was the best furry friend a human could have. The vet at the shelter spayed Mattie, and while we waited for her medical release I went online to research Blue Heelers and how to be a good pet parent to this special breed. Many articles stated that heelers may end up in shelters because they can go blind and deaf. As working dogs on ranches, they have to earn their keep. Our rural county is cattle country. Animal Control had found Mattie roaming the streets of of our town, so we’ll never know her backstory.
A rancher at our local feed store told us years ago that Mattie was mostly a McNab Shepherd (Wiki). When I researched this breed online, I found that the most amazing herding dog “ever” had adopted us. We felt profoundly blessed and very lucky. Especially after her death due to old age, we know we had lived with a furry angel, and we will miss her every day until the end of our earthly days.
Mattie was my inspiration for my search-and-rescue novel WIP, The Rescuer. Mattie was very scent driven. If I had known more about McNabs when we first got Mattie, I would have had her trained in nose work. She would have been an excellent Search-and-Rescue dog with our county’s volunteer SAR team. But, alas, I didn’t know.
Around 13 years of age, Mattie began losing both her eyesight and her hearing. Arthritis attacked her joints, especially her hips. Our trail companion and fellow lover of car tent camping and RV trips chose to nap and take short walks in the neighborhood. As her sense of smell was still keen, she loved sniffing every rock and tree, “reading the dog blogs”, until she could go no farther than just a few yards.
One Monday in April 2020, when she was unable to make it up the steps into our home after going potty, I called our vet clinic. This was during the virus, and I hoped and prayed our vet would make a home visit. Otherwise, we would have had to drop Mattie off at the clinic and wait in our car until the vet tech would come to our car to tell us of Mattie’s death.
Mattie’s long-time veterinarian came to our home at lunch on Tuesday, and Mattie peacefully left us as we held her.
We know that we are blessed compared to what humans experienced during the pandemic, with the illness and deaths of their parents, and other relatives and loved ones.
Our hearts are empty. Her collar, leash, and red winter sweater still hang on the hook to the left of our door.
RIP, sweet Mattie. You truly were The. Best. Dog. Ever.
Thank you for reading. Come along on my adventures.
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