Finding My Shadow Part 1

Posted by AnimalPsychic

One June weekend, many years ago, I was invited to a family campout with a friend and his extended family.  We packed up my little saturn wagon with our camp gear and took to the road.  Unfortunately the camping site did not offer much entertainment for the boys, so we decided to venture to the lake.  Little did I know my life would change that afternoon, for I would be finding my shadow.

It was maybe a 20 minute drive, and when we arrived we found an unfriendly beach loaded with jet-skiers. This was not a good place for the boys to swim.  I remembered seeing a sign for a waterfall half way back toward the camping area, so we decided to follow this lead.  We turned at the sign for the waterfall.  This road continued on, and on.  Six miles later we were still enroute on a heavily wooded road with no sign of houses.  Then I noticed two puppies on the side of the road, and slowed.  “Don’t stop”. my friend commented.  We continued on to the end of the road.  The dirt access road was closed, with no indication of how far a walk it would be to the falls.  We decided to skip the falls, and turned back.  I slowed as we neared the puppies, still waiting on the side of the road.  Then I stopped, glanced at my friend, and opened the car door.

One puppy came up to me quickly, happy for the company. The other would not approach.  We checked the dogs for collars, they could not have been older than a few months.  There were no houses anywhere in the area.  Then a car approached and slowed.  “You okay?”, the driver asked.  He thought we had car trouble.  “No, we found these dogs out here”, I replied.  “This isn’t the usual dumping place”, he said, and continued on his way.  We picked up the one dog, with little room for the other, and the other more shy dog was keeping his distance.  We brought the one puppy back to our camp, and then two of us returned to find the other dog.  He was no longer there.  We assumed the driver we saw earlier had returned and brought him home. 

So here I am, with a puppy on a make-shift leash.  She made the rounds at dinner time, cheerfully visiting each plate, oh, I mean each person.   I offered the group a few ideas for a name, and everyone agreed on one of them: Shadow.  Her beautiful black coat was soft and wavy.  The little white patches gave a good contrast.  Then reality knocked on my door: where would we keep her tonight?

THe tent was not an option.  There was too great a chance of chewing and scratching, and this was a brand-new tent.  Then an offer came from my friends mom, offering the back of their truck with a closing canopy.  “There’s nothing back there, so she can’t do any damage”.  Great!  “No”, my son said, “I’m not letting her sleep alone”.  He gathered his sleeping bag and the two retired to their sleeping space. To be continued…