The story thus far began in 2013 when a small four
legged stranger wandered into my Ecuador resident daughter and her husband’s
home. Now, a year later I return to see for myself what had transpired in the
time I’d been away.
2014: Home again in Australia
I soon settled back into the usual domestic routine: The Reluctant Traveler
speedily brought up to date on the life and times of the kids back in
Ecuador. Lovely man that he is he knew I
had left half my heart back there in the Andes.
I’d also related over and again the many qualities of the small dog
that had made such a whirlwind affect on all our lives. So it wasn’t all that
long before he suggested I start saving my pennies for a return visit, with the
result that a year or so later here I was, back again in the air taking that
long flight across the south Pacific and then up the spine of South America,
about to land in Guayaquil.
In the interim I had been kept up to date via email about the
unsuccessful search for Dog’s owners and even the more diligent canvassing of
possible adoptive parents. I knew my two
kids, husband and wife had spent weeks and months systematically working their
way through a long list of possible candidates.
Personally I was quite convinced that everyone they approached could
see that the dog was exactly where the dog belonged. I could only fall back on
the old adage that surely love is sometimes blind! In truth I thought all this
search business was a no brainer; I’d always been pretty sure that the dog had
decided his own future way back on day one and the two humans really didn’t
have much say in the matter at all.
As the little bloke with the ridiculous curly tail continued to
slowly but effectively burrow his way deeper into his temporary owner’s hearts
emails flowed back and forth until surprise, surprise, an email arrived to say
they hadn’t been able to find him an alternative home.
'The dog is a funny little
chap', I read, 'He
has his routine and we try not to get in the way of it.'
Various names for the little pooch were suggested until they settled
on Percy and from then on the emails were full of tit-bits featuring Percy
doing this, and Percy doing that. Of course they had fallen in love with him.
~
Ecuador 2014: The plane has landed. The kids have picked me up from
the airport and I’m being driven from the coastal international airport across
the mountains and getting excited about the second greatly anticipated reunion,
the one with Percy!
I think back to that moment not all that long ago when Percy began
his campaign to win us over and how tangibly he responded to our loving
kindness. Now here I am, about to find him wearing a smart harness and leash,
hollow ribs now chubby and robust, and adored by two accommodating and besotted
humans. How lucky could a little dog be?
At last we turn into the driveway and ahead I can see a small bundle
of energy bouncing with joy. What a
welcome! I’d like to think it was especially for me but apparently my children
get a welcome like this whether they’ve been gone 10 minutes or 10 hours. I bend down to take the paw of the little man
and rekindle our old friendship. Gone is
that original hesitance of eye contact; in its place the confidence of
belonging.
~~~
It didn’t take long to realize Percy ruled the roost. On frequent walks through the property he led
the way bounding eagerly ahead, stopping every few moments to check we were
following: When we slow to take in the magnificent view of mountains and alpine
farms, so too does he.
When heavy rain results in a mud slide and work is needed on the
property’s water canal, Percy is there to supervise the action.
His visits to the other four legged residents on the property,
Oonagh, Isla and the little new born calf Frieda are invariably marked with his
own doggy sense of humour. Percy is well aware the banana treats for the cows
are not high on a doggy menu but that doesn’t stop him nipping between their
legs to steal one for himself…merely to sit a safe distance away with his prize
tucked safely and uneaten between his paws; a devilish grin on display.
What a special dog he is. As
is the way of humans and dogs, this adorable little bundle of mischief has
become a valued member of my daughter’s household. Both she and Percy I was
sure were initially hesitant about their growing relationship, but whereas the
little dog feared rejection, she feared the inevitable pain of a pet she might
one day lose. As if either of them had
any choice in the matter, after all where the heart leads the brain has little
to do but follow.
As I sit outside on the garden chair writing in my journal I look
across at the two of them, her face animated, Percy tail up eager to play: Both intent on their regular game of chasing
down dusk with lots of feints and false moves, Percy darting around the yard
with all the skill of a circus dog, ears flapping.
Seeing him now plum tuckered out and exhausted after his mad chase
around the yard, catching a few well deserved 30 winks I imagine him chuckling
in his dreams as he thinks back to those long and lonely weeks on the dusty
road and the fortuitous legwork that finally brought him home.
And then, with visions of all the emaciated, desperate street dogs I had
seen on my travels. I look once again at little Percy and shudder to think how
very different his life, and ours might have been had he not taken that
hesitant but momentous first walk up the driveway.
~~~~
Robyn Mortimer ©2015
