On our second trip to the pound, we decided to take some of the different dogs out for walks. We wanted to get to know them..."we" being very generic. I just wanted "my dog."
We walked one or two other dogs and then came "my dog's" turn. Her shoulder was at knee-height and she had a beautiful black coat with a white chest, brown legs with white feet, and a tiny white snip down her face completed with two brown "eyebrows." She practically danced on the end of the leash. We all took turns holding the leash. I could tell my sisters were starting to be won over. The dog didn't have a name. We thought about it and came up with one- always a sign that you're attached to the animal. "Bonnie" was what we picked. Bonnie suited her.
One of us (it could have been me) accidentally let go of the leash. Suddenly, we watched in horror as Bonnie sped away towards the small corral that housed a horse.*
We began to call the dog and our voices raised in pitch as the following happened:
Dog slipped through fence rails at about 30mph.
Horse spots dog.
Horse screams in fright and begins to run.
Dust clouds kick up and the dog is no longer visible.
We can just see the top half of the horse as it kicks out with it's back legs.
Horse trots away from dust cloud.
Cloud is clearing with no sight of dog.
Black streak comes racing at us.
Dog sits at our feet panting and smiling.
As we recover from the shock of that, we then urgently tell my Dad, "Look! She came back to us!" We had fallen in love with her.
"I don't know, girls." He said.
"Please, Dad!"
"Let's take her home. Now."
"What if someone else wants her?" -Little did we know how true that statement was about to become.
"Let's think about it." Dad said.
We barraged him with questions and pleas. All the while, Bonnie patiently sat at our feet, ears pricked forward, listening. We finished our walk with her and returned her to the volunteer at the pound.
On the drive home, the pleas and defense arguments about Bonnie continued. Dad got us home and told us we'd sleep on it. The next day, we were thrilled when he agreed to go get Bonnie. He decided to swing by the pet store for a carrier and some basic supplies after work and bring her home with him.
All day we waited impatiently. The phone rang towards the evening. We could hear my Mom talking to my Dad. We heard her say something along the lines of: "I'm sorry. The girls will be disappointed." And fear crept into us. What had happened?!
My Dad came home that night and explained that another couple had already requested Bonnie. They were in the process of adopting her that evening. He had spoken with them.
Apparently, the couple was from Arizona and looking for a show dog. They were struck with Bonnie's breeding. (Even though no one knew where she'd come from.) Having looked her over, they had made a decision on a whim to take her with them. My Dad had told them that he had four little girls waiting anxiously for Bonnie- they were expecting her that very hour.
The couple got his number, said they'd think about it, and then my Dad had called my Mom.
We cried. "We want Bonnie!" we moaned. "She was perfect!" we sobbed. "There isn't another like her!" we insisted when my Dad mentioned finding another dog. It was a rough night in the Beard house.
*The pound in Omaha, NE had so many different kinds of animals- not just pets, but farm animals as well! Pigs, goats, ponies, sheep, chickens, rabbits, cats, dogs, birds, reptiles...they were busy!! That horse Bonnie chased was one of theirs.
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