A few days ago we were staying at the Delkon Chapter House -we had an amazing meal there by the way --- and it was super windy – and we bought cracker jacks at the store – but, that's not really part of the story.
The following morning as we were all packing up to head out; this super fluffy, bouncy sheepdoggy came bounding into the parking lot. He had a little mutt friend with him. Kathleen saw this dog and fell immediately in love as he looked exactly like her dearly departed Tucker, with black and white fur and a big ol' doggy smile. This dog ran up to her and literally knocked her over with his paws, licking her and giving her all kinds of dog love.
That morning she stayed behind to help clean up while Carrie and I set out on the walk.
About 5 miles into our morning the caravan of support vehicles came streaming down the road. As Carrie and I were drumming along we heard Kathleen's truck honking away at us and as we turned to wave hello to her, she yells out, “Nikki, meet Delkon!”
And sure enough, there was this dog head in the passenger seat next to her, looking like he belonged there forever. As she passed us both Carrie and I looked at each other and said, “I knew it.”
So, we met up with her at lunch and got to meet this dog. Kathleen said that she asked as many locals as she could if the dog belonged to anyone, and people just said, “nope....that dog just runs along and plays with everyone.” So...there Delkon was, eating chicken off the Kitchen bus and leftovers from people's beef stew lunch.
After lunch, Kathleen and I switched off driving duties – I took her truck (and Delkon) for the afternoon so she could finish out the remainder of the walking miles for the day.
As the walkers headed out, I took the truck and drove it 3.5 miles up to the next rest stop, preparing to do some writing while I was waiting.
Next thing I know I see a car pull over behind the support R.V. and I hear a woman say, “That woman has my dog!” She comes running over to the pick-up with her small daughter in tow and peeks her head in the driver's side window where I'm just sitting there, a little dumbfounded.
“Oreo!”, she says, “what are you doing in there!”
Oreo leaps up from his chicken and beef stew slumber and perks his ears at the sound of his own name. I start apologizing profusely and begin telling this (really very sweet) lady the whole story about how Kathleen asked around, and about Tucker and about how Kathleen would never just steal someones dog...
“Oh, I thought we lost him forever,” she says, starting to cry, “he always goes out and plays in the morning, but he's always home by 8:00am to eat. When he didn't show up by 10 I was just so worried. He watches my 4 kids and keeps them safe while I'm at work. My little daughter has been crying all morning.”
By this time Oreo is back in their car, wrapped up in the arms of the little girl.
“How did people not know he was yours at the Chapter House?” I asked her.
“We just moved here a couple of weeks ago, so they didn't know.”
“And, how did you know to come find the Walk?”
She said, “It was my last chance. I just thought I would come find you guys and ask if any of you had seen him – 'cause I knew he sometimes played over at that place. I knew which way you were heading..so I just started driving until I found you...and then I saw him in your truck.”
So then, after all that...I asked if she wouldn't mind driving back with me a couple of miles so we could let Kathleen say goodbye to him and give her a chance to tell her what happened this morning. “Of course,” she said. She wasn't angry at all and was just so gracious about the whole thing.
We found the walkers just up the road and pulled over and parked. I walked up to Kathleen just to give her a heads up and we went over to the little red car where Oreo was sticking his head out the window, lolling his tongue about and wagging at her approach.
Words were exchanged and hugs, for both humans and dog. I drove Kathleen up to the next rest stop so she could just have some time before rejoining the walk. As she told me later, it was the first time she had really just taken the opportunity to bring another dog into her life since Tucker had passed last fall. They had such a bond with one another and his loss was devastating..so to see this dog just arrive that looked just like him, and greet her with such affection..it just seemed right to her. And then to lose him so suddenly like that was heartbreaking.
It was a tough day. And as I'm writing this several days later, I have to say that this story is filled with such grace – and as sad as it is, it's also beautiful in its own way.
I appreciate her letting me share it with you.
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