ELIZABETH GADD GOLDEN EARS 49°21’46.1”N 122°30’27.0”W
“To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring—it was peace.” –Milan Kundera
the first time i saw my human , she was fending off my overenthusiastic siblings as they mauled her with their tiny teeth. I quietly observed from behind my crate—my safe place. I was five months old, and didn’t yet know there was an entire world outside of the cages and concrete floors of animal shelters. They say I came from the north, where the wild gray wolves live. But they called me a Mystery Mongrel, likely descended from rogue farm dogs and maybe a poodle. I may be small, but I do believe I have the heart of a wolf. I can certainly howl like one! But apparently it was my squeaky whimper that first drew Lizzy’s attention to me. I guess my regal howl hadn’t quite fully developed yet. She claims I was a “shy little muppet,” hiding from the rest of the shelter’s chaos—slightly embarrassing, but not entirely untrue. I just preferred quiet corners of safety over the wild playfighting of the bigger pups, who obviously had no bodily awareness yet. Frankly, I was tired of being paw-punched and run over. I suppose my shy personality worked in my favour, though I was very confused at first when Lizzy pointed at me, and suddenly I was clipped onto a leash and led outside to a car. This human, Lizzy, held me tightly. I shivered on her lap for the entire drive, while she told me over and over again that I was safe. It didn’t take me long to trust her energy. Everything I’ve ever known was left behind, and everything out in the world was new and scary— including the front porch stairs leading into my new home. What are stairs? I’m supposed to climb them?! But within a few minutes of being held by this human, I sensed she was my new world of safety. And placing a soft slobbery kiss on her face, I pledged my loyalty. If there’s something you should know about us dogs, it’s that when we decide to love someone, we love loyally and unconditionally for the rest of our lives. So, naturally, I would never let Lizzy leave my sight again. That evening, the moment she stepped behind a shower curtain, I screamed at the top of my lungs (still working on developing that howl). I was not happy about that. I made sure she knew no bathroom doors or flimsy curtains should ever separate us again. Before that day, I was living each moment to survive it. Now I had a new purpose: living to love. To experience life with my human to look after her. To protect her at all costs. And to also eat her socks. There is a vast and beautiful world out there, and with my human by my side, anything was possible. Once I figured out how to climb stairs, I began to climb mountains. In fact, Lizzy tells me I probably have mountain goat blood mixed into my mystery mutt makings. I quickly figured out how to climb ladders and scramble up steep hills, boulders, and cliffs. I always wait at the top, peering over the edge to watch Lizzy make her way up after me. Honestly, humans are so slow. But I still never let her out of my sight. When we sit on the peaks of mountains, we gaze together into the horizon. Lizzy always asks me, “Are you really taking in the view like a human would, Pepper? You’ve been staring out there for ages.” Of course I am! These are some of my favourite moments. Sitting together on top of the world, watching the sun go down, I feel like the luckiest dog on earth. Sometimes, we throw our heads back and howl together, just for the heck of it. And yes, my howl did fully develop into a rather majestic one.
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MOTHER VOLUME FOUR
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