Sloan

When my husband of 37 years, Gary, and I were dating, he had two dogs, Jennifer and Sloan. Jennifer was an older collie and a home body. Sloan was part bird dog, brown with lots of spots. Sloan was an escape artist and a wanderer.  One day when I was visiting my future husband, he said Sloan had run off again. She was wirey and had a slight build but could easily climb his six foot wood fence. She was always looking for company in the neighborhood. Days went by with us searching for her to no avail. We made lost dog signs and posted them all around the neighborhood. About a week later a woman called and said she was pretty sure they had our dog. We made arrangements to go there the next day.

When we got to the house a woman answered the door and said her son had fallen in love with the dog. She invited us in and took us around the corner where her son's bedroom was. She opened the door and on her son's bed sat her son hugging the dog. We said the dog's name is Sloan. Gary called Sloan and Sloan just sat there tucking her head under the boy's arm, reluctant to move. After what seemed like an eternity Gary asked the woman if they would like to keep Sloan. He said Sloan was always escaping and he was never home due to a job where he was out of town a lot. The woman exclaimed yes and her son hugged Sloan even closer. I had tears in my eyes because I knew my future husband had just made a difficult decision, but one that was best for Sloan and the boy. We cried a little on the way home but knew it was the right thing to do. Not sure why I remembered this story after all these years but I did. Happy trails Sloan. (image borrowed from the net but what I remember her looking like).