Long ago, an elderly lady took in a puppya great, shaggy English Mastiff. The little dog grew quickly and guarded the cottage with utmost seriousness. She could devour a whole basin of food in the blink of an eye and would scratch her back against the old wooden fence so fiercely that the posts would creak and sway. Sometimes, with a playful tug, she would nearly topple the lady over as she passed nearby. After all, such a dog needed a bit of excitement now and again.
Time passed, and one day, the old lady diednot because of the dog, but simply because she didnt quite make it to her ninetieth year. Afterwards, her children and grandchildren gathered at the quaint cottage where she had lived. And there, still tied to a sturdy chain by the back gate, sat the huge Mastiff, watching them with a look that left no room for doubtthey were most welcome guests. It isnt every day, after all, that an entire houseful of new vitamin sources and a variety of tasty morsels arrive all at once.
The family pondered what to do with the dog. It seemed heartless to put her down, yet living nearby filled them with dread. To simply set her loose wasnt the Christian thing to dothe world, they reasoned, was not so steeped in sin that it ought to suffer such a trial. They decided instead to find the dog a good home, willing even to offer a bit of money to whoever would take in the massive, hairy creature. For anyone brave enough to adopt the beast, nothing was too dear.
And so, they found a man who had always dreamed of feeding enormous dogs by the trough and scratching behind big floppy ears with garden rakes. People, after all, have the oddest fancies. They summoned the village vet.
The vet was briefed with a careful plan: the dog would be given a sleeping injection and, while drowsy, whisked off to her new abode. They mustnt forget to cross themselves for the new owners healthor perhaps for his soul, for who could say what might happen?
At the appointed time, the vet arrived, cool as anything, with his dart gun. All English country vets are remarkably brave, of course. He loaded a dart with a hefty dose of sedative and, with a single shot, sent the dog quietly off to visit the Land of Nod. They unclipped her chain, and carried her, limp as a rag, out to the waiting motorcar.
The dog was loaded in the bootone of those estate cars where the back merges with the passenger compartment. The vet settled himself comfortably in the passenger seatbeing the professional, it was his due. The new owner took the wheel, while all the old ladys family gathered in the back, making conversation, trying to keep their spirits up. Suddenly, as the car jostled along the country road, the dog began to stir.
She lifted her massive head and looked about with keen interest. People everywhere! Sitting, staring right back at her.
The vets eyes grew wide as saucers. The new owners did, tooso much so that not once did he glance at the road. At that moment, he cared not a fig that he was driving.
How curious, mused the dog.
Is there a heaven, I wonder? thought the family.
Without much ado, the dog began to climb up and over into the lap of the nearest person. Why delay? The new owner fumbled for the handle, ready to leap from the moving motor, caring not one jot who was in control of the car. The dog, meanwhile, took it upon herself to lick every last one of themthe old ladys family, for they were not strangers, and the new owner, for surely he was a kindred spirit. Even the vet, though hed just darted her, ended up with a slobbery kiss. Not, perhaps, the best of men, but there you are.
And that is how they all discovered they had quite misjudged the man-eater. They finished their journey home dripping from head to toe. From abovebecause the dogs kisses were generous indeed. From belowbecause in the moment of her waking, everyone was overcome with emotion.
My beloved country garden and cottage remain in my memory stillSo it was that the enormous Mastiff, head resting warmly on the new owner’s knee, found herself truly at home. In that cluttered estate car filled with startled laughter and damp handkerchiefs, something precious settled in: a sense of belonging, untidy and remarkable. For as the great dog lolled and grinned among her adopted herd, even the vet laugheda proper, chest-shaking laugh that left his spectacles askew.
By the time they reached the distant cottage, a delicious peace had come over the travelers. They tumbled out, wiped their faces, and watched as the dog bounded free into her new life. Some say she still sits by a different back gate, enormous and watchful, dispensing slobbery benedictions to all who pass, and teaching those around her that sometimes, the fiercest hearts are nothing more than old souls yearning for a familyagain and again, for as long as the biscuits last and there are hands enough to scratch behind her ears.
