Desperate House Dogs!: Missing You, Yellow Dog

The girls ran up to the car as I drove into the horse farm. I was there to pick them up from their part time job of feeding and turning out horses and mucking stalls.

“Mom! Look,” Becca called happily as I opened the car door. That’s when I saw the pretty furry yellow dog. “She was chasing horses through the pasture.”

My instincts kicked in. Oh, no. I know where this is going. My animal loving daughters have surprised us before.

I stepped out of the car to a happy dance by Annie and Becca and rubbed the soft head of the 35 pound dog who wore a makeshift collar and leash.

“Her name is Nakima!”

“She has a name? How do you know?”

“I named her!” smiled almost 16 year old Becca.

Oh, dear. We’re in trouble.

“Can we bring her home? We can look for her owners. But we have to bring her home or she’ll get hurt out here.”

“Oh, Bec, I don’t know.”

“Please,” a sister unison plea is always hard to ignore.

“Okay. But we have to see what Daddy says. And we have to look for her owners.”

We diligently searched for the yellow dog’s owner. And quickly fell in love, grateful (for us) that we never found them. That was in Spring of 1999.

Nakima, about six months old, was a calm dog and well mannered. Little did we know those first couple of weeks that when we met her she was practically starving. As soon as she had good food in her belly everyday, her energy level increased a hundred fold. The dog who fearlessly chased horses in the pasture showed us her stuff. For years, at least once a month, we had to chase that wildly happy pup after she escaped from our fenced yard like a doggie-houdini. She was ecstatic when people visited us; she knew the reality was that they visited us to play with her.

Other than her energy level, and some dog-aggressive behavior, which took many years to control, she was a perfect family pet. Nakima was a lover of all people of all ages. She especially enjoyed being loved on by little kids, even though she lived with us who had no little ones running around.

And she was entirely devoted to Becca. Never was there a question of who her human momma was, regardless of Becca’s insane work schedule hours or even a move cross country. She bounded into Becca’s arms and snuggled with her as though they had never been separated.

The last few years, Nakima just got old. No longer did she catch frogs or bunnies in the yard or find ways to escape. Long ago she stopped climbing trees to catch squirrels. She walked more slowly and ate less. But her devotion and sweet demeanor only expanded.

Sadly, Becca had to say goodbye to 16 ½ year old Nakima in June of this year. It still hurts to picture her running around our yard with Frodo who went on ahead of her and Jasmine who recently joined her. But the memory of the sweetest and softest yellow dog that ever lived will remain in each of our hearts forever. And we give thanks to God for the gift of Nakima.