Bessie gathered the eggs and fed the chickens while she waited for Arf’s owner to come and get him. As she walked back to the house, her heart was heavy. As always, Arf was by her side. As always? It had only been a few days since he had shown up at her door, yet it seemed like they had been together forever.

The Johnsons, Arf’s owners, had a daughter in college. Jamie was her name. She was headed home for spring break and would be stopping by to pick up Arf on the way.

“Oh Arf,” Bessie said. “I do hope Brad gets here before that young girl does. I’m not sure I can bear to let you go.

I think I hear his truck coming now.”

I ran to greet Brad and then back to Miss Bessie, back to Brad and back to Miss Bessie. I was really nervous. Wait! I think I hear Jamie’s Jeep. Yes…Jamie is here. I’ll run out to greet her.

Jamie…it was Jamie. She found me.

Brad walked over to Jamie and began to introduce himself. Bessie ran to the kitchen to make coffee. She still looked sad.

“We’ve been expecting you Miss Johnson. I’m Brad Holcomb a friend of Miss Bessie’s. I believe she went inside to make some coffee.”

“Please call me Jamie,” she said as she knelt down to makeover Arf. “I didn’t think we would ever see you again sweet boy. You look great!”

“Let’s go inside.” Brad led the way. ” I know Miss Bessie is anxious to meet you.”

Jamie walked into the kitchen and went straight to Miss Bessie. “I can’t thank you enough for watching over Arf.”

Miss Bessie nodded her head. She didn’t trust herself to say anything. Instead, she brought out a plate of cookies and poured coffee for everyone.

I laid on the floor between the two ladies. My head was spinning. Can a dog’s head spin?

“Do you have any idea how Arf got this far from home?” Brad asked.

“Yes. We finally figured it out. It seems he got caught in a moving van. The movers called the people who were transferring to a town near here and said a dog had gotten out of the van when they arrived. They said he ran off before they could catch him. Since none of us knew each other. It took a while for us to tie it all together.”

“You ran a long way, Arfie,” Jamie said. “I don’t know if we would have found you if Miss Bessie hadn’t called.”

Miss Bessie didn’t say anything right away. I wondered why…

“It was the right thing to do.” Her voice wasn’t much louder than a whisper.

Jamie looked at me. She had a sad look on her face, too. What’s up with all the sadness? I’m the happiest dog ever. I have Jamie and Miss Bessie and Brad. Three humans to throw me frisbees and make over me day and night. I wonder if Brad fishes. I love to go fishing.

“Miss Johnson…Jamie, do you have a place to stay tonight? It’s far too late to get back on the road, today.” Miss Bessie was pouring more coffee. It’s quite a distance between towns around here.”

Jamie looked surprised. “I hadn’t really thought beyond getting here to pick up Arf. I’m not in a real hurry to get to California. My parents are on a two week cruise. Can you give me the name of a hotel nearby? One that allows pets?”

“Nonsense,” Miss Bessie said. “You can stay right here. “I have a little spare bedroom and it will only take an hour or so to clear some things out to make room for you.”

Brad winked at Miss Bessie. He had seen that spare room. So had I.

“I have a better idea,” Brad offered. “I have a horse ranch just a few miles from here. It’s just me, the housekeeper, a cook, and the hired hand rambling around in that big old house. You’re more than welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”

BRAD

HIRED HAND

Jamie thought for a minute.

“Well, I guess I’ll take you up on your generous invitation. It seems to be the best solution.”

Jamie looked happy, so I was happy. Brad looked happy, too. But Miss Bessie still looked sort of puzzled.

“May I make another suggestion?” She asked.

Miss Bessie looked at me. I think she was trying to get up the nerve to say something.

“Tomorrow is the big Easter festival in town. I was planning to enter Arf in the doggie Easter Parade. I’ve uh, spent a lot of time making a costume for him to wear. I would be very grateful if you would consider staying over until Monday so that we could all go. Maybe you would let Arf stay with me tonight so I could put the finishing touches on his costume, and get him ready in the morning.”

Brad looked very surprised, but he didn’t say anything. Miss Bessie shot him a look that told him to be quiet.

“That sounds like fun,” Jamie said. “And of course Arf can stay the night with you. We’ll have plenty of time together, later.”

After Jamie and Brad left, Miss Bessie got all kinds of stuff out of her sewing room.

“We’re going to have to work fast Arf,” she said. “Do you have any ideas as to what you would want to dress up like?”

“It’s only two days until we go to the Easter festival in town, Arf. I must get my eggs ready to take to the General Store, and make some hot cross buns for the church bake sale. I also want to bake an apple pie for Mr. Holcomb. I mean Brad. He wants to be called Brad. Wasn’t it nice of him to insist he drive us to town for the festival? He’s such a nice young man.

Miss Bessie was talking and humming, and talking and humming. I was watching her because sometimes that means she’s about to give me a b-o-n-e.

Miss Bessie took her coffee and newspaper to the living room. She turned the TV on because she knows I like to watch Lassie.

My favorite episode was on. It’s the one where Timmy finds a man stuck in quicksand and sends Lassie back to the farm to get a rope. I’ve learned a lot of neat stuff from watching Lassie. I was almost to the part where she gets back with the rope and Timmy ties it to a long tree branch so he can hold it far enough out for the man to reach it, when I heard the phone ring. Miss Bessie went to the kitchen to answer it. I was about to follow her when she came back and sat down in her chair. I hadn’t seen her look sad in a while, but something had made her sad tonight.

“Well Arf,” she said. “I’ve been trying not to think about this, but I guess I knew your owners wouldn’t change their minds.Their daughter, Jamie, is on her Easter break from college and she’s going to pick you up on her way home.

She will be here sometime tomorrow. The day before the Easter festival.”

At night when we went to bed, I got to sleep on a pallet at the foot of Miss Bessie’s bed. I liked sleeping there.

When I woke up the next morning, she was already in the kitchen baking bread. I knew something was wrong though because she wasn’t humming.

Later, Miss Bessie and I were out collecting eggs and Mr. Brad drove up.

“Good morning Miss Bessie,” he said. “I thought I’d better check and see what time you want me to pick you and Arf up for the Easter festival tomorrow.”

“Oh yes, the Easter festival,” Miss Bessie said quietly. “I’m not quite sure, Brad. I got a call last evening from Arf’s owners. The daughter is picking him up sometime today.”

Today? I was flabbergasted. I loved my before humans, but I never thought I would be going back to them. I had been forced to move on. Miss Bessie needed me. Where is my frisbee? What should I do? What would Lassie do?

While I was thinking, Miss Bessie was telling Mr. Brad the whole story.

“I need to get back to the ranch,” he said. “I’ll be back later to meet this Jamie. I’ll try to be here around one. If she gets here before then, don’t let her leave until I have a chance to talk with her.”

Miss Bessie nodded her head. Mr. Brad said goodbye and walked back to his truck.

“Arf, come here boy,” he said. “I forgot to give these to Miss Bessie. Will you take them to her please?”

Mr. Brad reached into the truck and picked up a pretty bouquet of flowers for me to carry to Miss Bessie. She was dabbing her eyes with her hanky, but when she saw the flowers, she smiled big.

An old woman, a young man, and a dog… they knew very little about each other, but there was already a strong bond building between them.

“A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires your flowers.”

I totally understand this quote. A true friend knows you’re not perfect, but chooses to see the good in you. Everybody needs someone like that in their lives. You realize they know all of your flaws, but unless it’s an obnoxious sort of flaw, your friend ignores it. They will, however, tell you if you have spinach in your teeth.

“A friend who understands your tears is much more valuable than a lot of friends who only know your smile.”

I like this one, too. I would add that one or two special friends who understand your tears is enough. It’s not good to cry on the shoulder of a lot casual friends. That would diminish the value of the trust you should have in a friend to whom you tell your darkest secrets.

“Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait to hear the answer.”

Who does that?

“Sometimes being with your best friend is all the therapy you need.”

That and a good belly laugh.

“There’s not a word yet for old friends who’ve just met.”

Have you ever felt that immediate connection to someone you just met? Maybe you have the same weird sense of humor, or like the same movies or books.

“A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they’re not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they’re not so bad.

Huh!

“It’s hard to find a friend who’s loving, generous, caring, courageous, spiritual, trustworthy, loyal and cute. So my advice to everyone is this. If you have a friend like Pat Davis, don’t lose her.

Happy Birthday Dear Friend…Everyone who knows you loves you…count me among them.

In an effort to get help for Bessie whose car broke down on the way back from town, Arf was trying to chase down a cowboy he saw in a field. The cowboy was riding a horse and chasing cows. The poor little dog ran as fast as he could and finally caught the cowboy’s eye.

“What are you doing out here?” The cowboy jumped down off his horse and knelt down to pet Arf. “There’s not a house for miles.”

I was so happy the cowboy liked me. I think he could tell something was wrong. I’m no Lassie, so I wasn’t sure how to get him to follow me to Miss Bessie’s car. Finally, I grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled on it just a little. The cowboy must have understood because without a word he climbed up on his horse. He just looked at me until I figured out he intended to follow me.

I ran all the way back to the car and the cowboy stayed right behind me. When we got back to Miss Bessie, she was crying. We could see her dabbing her eyes with her hankie.

“Oh Arf,” she said. “I knew you would find someone to help us. Thank you mister for coming. I was getting worried the sun would set on me.”

“My name is Brad Holcomb. I have a ranch a couple of miles from here. Tell me what happened?”

“This old heap just quit on me. It sputtered a couple of times and quit.”

The cowboy asked Miss Bessie if he could get behind the wheel. When he attempted to start the old car, it tried to turn over, but stopped short of starting.

“Miss?”

“Bessie, Mr. Holcomb, my name is Bessie.”

“Miss Bessie, when was the last time you put gas in this car?”

“Well…Oh, I remember…I filled up the day before I went to last year’s Easter Festival. I don’t go very many places. I remember now, the gas gauge doesn’t work.”

“Will you be okay here with your dog, Miss Bessie, while I ride back to the ranch and get you some gas?”

“Oh my yes…I’m just grateful you came to help.”

I knew I was supposed to stay with Miss Bessie. I was tired from running anyway, but I sure did save the day.

After Mr. Holcomb got the car started, he followed us back home in his pickup truck. I think he wanted to make sure we got there safely.

“Mr. Holcomb, please come in for some apple pie and coffee. I’d like to pay you for the gas and your trouble.”

“I’ll gladly have a piece of pie, but there will be no talk of paying me for anything. That’s quite a dog you have there, Miss Bessie, A regular Lassie.”

Lassie? Did Mr. Holcomb say Lassie? I was very proud of myself.

“Yes,” Miss Bessie said. “I don’t know what I would have done without him. In the short time he’s been here, he has saved me from two near tragedies. Unfortunately, Arf doesn’t belong to me. He belongs to a family that lives 1200 miles away. They’re coming to get him.”

The she-shed is ever so slowly coming together. The inside is ready for me to finish. I’ll be doing a lot of painting and staining. I finished sanding and cleaning today.

I have purchased the primer, brown paint for the beams, blue for the ceiling and white for the clouds. The birds will be brown. I also got white wash for the walls. The double doors will probably be white.

On the outside, Kip needs to put in a French drain and a sump pump so the water drains away from the SS. He’ll finish boxing in the overhang, and replace a few bad boards.

Oh, I’m also going to seal and paint the concrete floor.

So you see, there is still a lot to do. The good news is I think it will be fun to put my own stamp on it. (That’s what they say on HGTV.)

There will be some landscaping to do later on.

Kip also finished putting in the air conditioner/heat pump.

This shelf is actually in pretty good shape, but I’m thinking about painting it.

I’m ready to rock and roll.

What do you think I should name my she shed…The Manor?

*************************

Tomorrow we’ll find out if Arf got help for Bessie and see what’s up with the cowboy.

The sun sets on madness and rises on a bleak tomorrow.

Overwhelming sickness brings our fellow man much sorrow.

The virus spreads like wildfire, and the only thing we can do

Is to stay away from others. It seems the opposite would be true.

The best advice that I’ve been given is to take one day at a time.

And trust in He who remains in charge. He knows the hills we’ll have to climb

The human spirit needs to heal before the world is truly well.

Looking toward the heavens will lift us up out of this hell.

Kindness, empathy, courage… compassion and lots of praying.

All things this world needs more of. It should all go without saying.

There are so many who do God’s work. We can’t do this on our own.

We must never forget what they sacrifice, so those who suffer aren’t alone.

THANK YOU to the:

nurses
doctors
scientists
gig workers
researchers
truck drivers
health experts
manufacturers
lab technicians
postal employees
hospital volunteers
supermarket clerks
warehouse operators
convenience store associates

You are heroes!

Arf didn’t understand that his humans were coming to get him and that it would be at least four days before they could get to Miss Bessie’s farm. He just knew that today he was a happy dog. He had won Miss Bessie’s heart and he had a new human to watch over. He didn’t miss his home quite as much.

****************************

“We have to go to town today, Arf. How are you at riding in a car? You look like you’re not too sure. I guess we’ll just have to find out won’t we?”

I didn’t have a clue what Miss Bessie was saying, but she was smiling, so it must be something good.

Uh oh, she wants me to get in the car. Should I? I just spent 3 days riding in a truck. I moved to a new place and I didn’t even want to. Maybe Miss Bessie was going to give me to another human. Should I run for it?

“Come Arf. Don’t you want to go for a ride?”

She said come and I know what that means, so I had to obey.

We climbed into the rickety old car that didn’t even have a lid on it, and off we went. I was wishing I had brought my frisbee. I really needed my frisbee. Miss Bessie drove too fast and didn’t stay on the narrow country road very well.

“We’re here,” Miss Bessie announced. “And we made pretty good time. The first stop is the bank, I’ll run in and you can wait here. Next, we’ll go to the General Store. You can go in there with me as long as you’re good.”

“Good morning, Miss Bessie” the clerk behind the counter said. “My you have a big smile on your face. Does that have anything to do with your new friend?”

Miss Bessie told the clerk the whole story and about how Arf had saved the eggs from the skunks.

“I have half of the eggs with me now. I figured the kids would want to get started decorating them for Easter. I’ll bring the other half in two days.”

“You can bring them when you come in for the Easter festival at the church. It’s on the Saturday before Palm Sunday this year. Are you going to enter some of your delicious pies in the contest?”

“Why yes,” Bessie said. “Give me two dozen of those apples please, and Arf here needs some bones.”

I know what a bone is. I even know when humans spell it. It’s b-o-n-e. I know when I hear that, I’m probably going to get a bone.

We left the store and headed back to the farm. On the way, the car made a funny noise and then it quit. Miss Bessie waited a few minutes and tried to start it again.

“It’s deader than a door nail Arf, and we’re too far from town or home to walk.”

We sat there forever. I didn’t know what was going on. I’m just a dog. Why weren’t we going home? Did Miss Bessie want me to get out? No…she just bought me b-o-n-e-s. I decided we needed some help.

Off in the distance, I could see some cows. Then I saw a human riding on a horse. Maybe he could help. I tried to tell Miss Bessie what I was going to do, but I’m just a dog and all I could do was bark once and jump out. I went to get the human to help Miss Bessie.

I hoped I could make him understand. I sure wished I had my frisbee.

I ran and ran and finally caught up with the horse and human. I guess the man was surprised to see me, he stopped and jumped off his horse.

“What are you doing way out here boy? Do you have a tag?”

The human petted me a while and then looked at my tag.

“Unbelievable,” he said. “You’re a long way from home.”

(Next…can Arf make the cowboy understand? Does Miss Bessie know that Arf didn’t run away?)

I told my writer to use today to beef up my story a little. I’ve been a little worried about her level of concentration. I hate to embarrass her, but a dog’s gotta do what a dog’s gotta do.

Do you know what she’s up to right now? She’s making a grilled cheese sandwich and chips for lunch. She had two pieces of peanut butter toast for breakfast. It’s only 8:00 a.m. If she does like she’s been doing, she’ll have her afternoon snack about noon. She has made a chocolate cake, walnut bars and banana bread in the past few days. This morning she weighed herself and screamed. Now she’s looking for sweatpants.

Do you see why I’m worried about my story? Bessie is worried too. She couldn’t believe it when she read her script and it said she had a milk cow named Bessie, too. We’ve seen that movie before with Pearl the human and Pearl the dog.

We just want you to know that from now on, we’re going to have more input.

I’m really sorry that you all have to be socially distant. I hope you’ve stocked up on bones and your dog has a few frisbees or a ball. It would be good if between meals you threw them to him or her. It might help keep the screams down.

BTW, I’m pretty sure your dog is sick of the news. Try Lassie or Rin Tin Tin. I’m not crazy about Old Yeller. It doesn’t end well.

Well, keep a stiff upper lip, your back to the wind and keep your tail wagging. Pray for your fellow human and don’t cut your bangs or bark up the wrong tree.

Arf the actor turned…

Arf Diehm, Reporter at large

*********

Hey Arf! Someone by the name of Venus wants to talk to you.

After filling up his stomach with a plate of mashed potatoes and gravy, Arf became very tired. Feeling sorry for her unexpected guest, the little old lady put a folded blanket by her chair and called Arf to lie down and rest. Both drifted off to sleep. When she woke up, the lady realized she hadn’t called the number on Arf’s tag.

“I’ll call first thing in the morning,” she said to the sleeping dog.

The lonely woman did not want to leave her friend and go to bed, but after making sure Arf had enough fresh water, and could get out the screen door if he needed to, she turned out the lights and went to bed.

Arf: I wondered if I was dreaming, because I do sometimes, but something woke me up. I heard a strange noise outside. I didn’t know what kind of animals the lady had, but I thought I should go outside and make sure everything was okay. The sound was coming from the chicken coop. I know what a chicken coop is. It’s where chickens hide their eggs. Sometimes dogs steal chicken eggs, but I don’t.

I could see something was trying to get the chickens. There must have been a hundred of the enemy…all against one (me). It took some time, but I finally sort of won. The enemy ran for their lives.

Arf: When I was walking back to the house, the lady came outside. When she saw me, she put her hands to her face and said, “Arf, what have you done?” And then she looked over by the hen house. By that time the sun was coming up so she could see better. Three of the bad guys were running up the road.

“Oh my goodness! You saved my eggs and they would have killed some of my chickens, too! Oh Arf. Now we must clean you up. What if it would have been me out there instead of you?”

Arf: The lady was so happy I decided I must have done a good thing. I didn’t even mind it when she poured stuff all over me and sprayed me with the hose.

“You saved the day, Arf. I promised twelve dozen eggs to the local market. I only have a few days left to collect them all. The kids will be wanting them to decorate for Easter.”

“Arf, I must call the phone number on your tag. Come here and let me see what it is again. By the way, my name is Bessie. I have a milk cow named Bessie, too.”
Arf: I could hear the lady talking on the phone, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. When she hung up, she looked sad again.

“Good news, Arf,” she said.” Your owners are coming to get you. They have no idea how you could have gotten this far, but they were very grateful to learn you were okay. They won’t be able to get here for four or five days. I told them I would be happy to keep you here with me.”