Growing Up As A Girl Child In America: Part 5

The blessings of animals and nature

1974–75 photos property of author. I included a picture of my best friend Cathy and me at Laguna Beach. We were 14 and having fun. In the picture on the right, I’m standing by the path I’d take when going out to the wash with Freckles. Center picture is me and DC, the Siamese cat.

I don’t know why I had to stay after school one day. All the buses had left and I was the only kid left on the playground.

I was swinging by myself when I saw a white dog running back and forth at the edge of our playground.

She was beautiful. Her long white speckled fur swayed gracefully as she ran. I jumped off the swing and ran toward her.

She stopped, looked at me, then ran toward me. She nearly knocked me down, covering my face with wet dog kisses.

By the time my grandmother arrived, the beautiful white and brown-speckled dog was my friend. She eagerly jumped in the car. It was my grandmother’s dark green 1970 Mercury Cougar with a soft black top.

The dog was young, trembling, and very thin. She looked like my grandfather’s dog Mac. I remembered Mac and Rusty, my grandfather’s hunting dogs, very well. Mac was a Llewellyn setter and Rusty was an Irish setter. Both had lived to be 20 years old.

English setter, image licensed from Adobe Stock

I uttered the words every child who’s ever found a stray dog said, “Please, can we keep her…