The Gift

I always looked forward to the time the rains would just subside. We lived directly adjacent to a wheat field in the open plains of Oklahoma. It was a regular event to sit on the front porch and watch the coyote; wolves and wild dogs cross the wheat field with their noses close the ground. As the mist and fog would settle they would cross the field and find there back into the trees and heavy thickets.
I had spent over two months in bed from a serious illness caused by a tick bite. I knew what it was like to be at deaths door and was still quite week. There was quite some time that I was not able to leave my bed. As I regained my strength, I would look out the window to gaze across the wheat field. One day after the rains had just subsided; I made my way out around the corner of the house. I saw a wild dog with his head down making his way to our chicken coop. There is something unexplainable about being on deaths door. There is this sense of peace and numbness to fear. I sat down and called out in a quiet voice. He turned and looked at me and I called again. Without hast he turned around slowly and came to me. I let him smell me as I would any dog. At first, we just sat in each other’s presence and then we silently exchanged helplessness. I could tell he sensed my spirit and I his. His steel blue eyes were like nothing I had ever encountered. I very carefully placed my hand on his thick wolf like coat. He drew closer. As I fingered through his coat, I could feel large ticks. He was so very sick from being depleted from what was sucking the life out of him. Just about that time, David came around the corner and laid his eyes on what was taking place. He stood still and told me that I was crazy. I reassured him that it was all right and that this animal needed our help. David got a tin can and we began pulling handfuls of these large ticks from this helpless creature. David had previously been inside cooking a chicken down for some chicken soup. He went inside, brought out the skin and some chicken, and placed it across the fence to lure our wild friend back to where he belonged. I will never forget the oneness of the encounter that I had been blessed with. His steel blue eyes and coarse coat is something I will always cherish. A gift from above that will never be forgotten. This encounter was another simple reminder that the animals followed us out of the Garden to teach us, unconditional love.
C.A. Bresin