A Dog - Lost and Found

This really happened when Ella, a friend of ours, was house sitting and minding two dogs for one of her longtime friends, Gai.

Ella was out one evening when a severe storm struck, with much loud thunder and several lightning strikes. When she came home the dogs were gone, and she supposed that they were frightened by the storm and had escaped along the river bank beyond Gai's yard.

There was much searching with neighbours all joining in. Next morning the young dog returned but there was no sign of the much loved older dog that had been the family pet for many years.

Ella thought the poor old fellow probably followed the young dog along the river and might have become caught up in something, so she started to search along the river bank. Sure enough, and much to her dismay, she found the body of a poor old bedraggled dog, caught up in debris. Gai's son, who had come home to help in the search, confirmed that it was their dog, and they took the poor old fellow home and found a nice spot on the river bank behind Gai's place to bury him.

A few of the friends and neighbours who had joined in the search, gathered for the burial; some bottles of wine were opened and quite a nice little wake was held on the riverbank while the poor old faithful dog was laid to rest. Ella rang to tell Gai the sad news - Gai was, of course, sad but philosophical.

A day later the sun was shining bright when there was a knock at the door. It was the RSPCA who were bringing home Gai's dog which had been found lost and wandering after the storm and placed in their care. They had washed and groomed the animal and had traced it's owner through council records.

Ella was delighted to get the old dog back, especially when the RSPCA man said they would waive the $300 fee for recovering and caring for Gai's dog, since Ella had saved them the job of attending to the body of the dog she had found in the river.

All's well that ends well!

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