The House of Usher

Kasey stood at ringside, watching the pattern, trying to familiarize her puppy through osmosis. They would be first in the ring when it was time to judge rough collies, so it was important for him to see and hear the sights and sounds that were not possible to replicate in a handling class. The smooth collies were just finishing now. The judge and the steward were both recording the variety winners in their respective books. The dogs that had not placed were already leaving the ring. They took their position at the gate as the last dog passed.

"Dog, Puppy 6-9, number 11, please!" the steward called.

Kasey patted her puppy one final time, then guided him into the ring. At eight months of age and a broad-boned 45 pounds, he was looking every inch the gawky collie teenager. His first loose-limbed time around the ring confirmed what she had originally thought: she should have skipped the puppy classes and given him time to mature. All the same, when she had a chance to review the video of the two of them in the ring, his face had held a happy expression and his tail had been held "gaily," as called for in the standard. It was not a bad outing, really. He'd gotten Reserve Winners, not a bad outing at all.

"It looks as if he's got a big collar to fill," the judge had joked, handing her the ribbon.

"The biggest," she'd joked back. "It was his grandsire's."

The weekend had gone as she had expected. One more reserve ribbon, then another ring without a placement but with a good long look from the judge. She'd given the entire judging panel a positive review on "The Dog Show Judges Report Card" page and called it good. She framed the reserve ribbons, ribbons she had once eschewed even keeping, as a testimony to her return to the ring and to the foundation of the House of Usher. She had five long years before she could apply for a kennel name, but that would not stop her from hoping to build that house.

~*~

Her puppy, now officially known as "WolfBayou Mad Roderick at Usher," made the rounds: Glen Rose, Alexandria, Pensacola, Kerrville. He finished in good time, despite her expectations, before he was a year old. After several less successful outings in the Best of Breed rings, Kasey decided to give him a year to mature, as he was making no headway as a special. She enrolled Roddy in obedience and herding classes, not willing to let that year away from conformation shows turn into a vacation. It was too easy for that kind of vacation to turn into the status quo. She had learned that all too well after the fire.

Since finding Roddy, Kasey had studied bloodlines and talked to breeders, getting on the waiting list for her chosen kennel in late winter the year before. In May, the two were joined by a female collie puppy. Roddy was in love with the ball of soft gold and white fluff from the moment she stepped out of the carrier to establish herself ruler of her domain. He was her willing servant, suffering all kinds of abuse at her paws. It would remain so for the remainder of his life.

Spring rolled into summer, bringing with it the humid Mississippi heat. Other than casual early-morning lessons in the backyard, in which Kasey took Roddy and Maddie through Rally obedience basics, those months were an easy-going period of growth and reflection, interrupted only by inconvenient periods of work and sleep. Her leggy, bumptious male puppy developed depth to his chest and, occasionally, broke into the more dignified "collie expression" so desirable in the ring. Somewhere around September, Maddie developed the graceful lines into which she would mature, cementing Kacey's confidence in her place as the House of Usher's foundation dam.

Taking an entire year off proved to be a bit much, however, especially with a lovely new puppy in the mix. Kasey focused on few local shows that offered matches and "4-6 Month Puppy" classes, trying very hard not to care about the adult collie classes that beckoned to her. Unlike Roddy, little Madeline was off to a stellar early career. Where he had been lean and rangy, she was compact, balanced, and sound. Where Roddy had a loose-limbed gait of a young dog faced with much growing ahead of him, her gait was purposeful and effortless. Both had amazing potential inside of them, but Madeline was giving an early glimpse of hers. The collection of large mounted flat ribbons from the classes grew. When two rosettes were added from a Best in Match weekend, Kasey made the decision to enter both dogs into the same Gulfport show in which Roddy had made his debut. It would be a fitting end to the year, before giving all of them a much-needed rest until spring and, perhaps, Pensacola.

~*~

The show hall seemed less cavernous than she had remembered it from the year before, the grounds seemed smaller. She had, of course, been to a few more shows in the last year. Everything was beginning to seem as familiar as it once had seemed, less intimidating. She watched the ring for the pattern again, as usual, as her former acquaintance, Amy? no, Tammy? brought a husky blue merle dog puppy through his paces. He was slightly easty-westy and carried his tail more like a border collie than a rough. All the same, he had a good side gait and more coat than a ten-month-old puppy would know what to do with. Carol? thanked the judge for her second-place ribbon, then left the ring to stand next to Kasey to watch the rest of the males being judged.

"He looked good out there," Kasey said, by way of encouragement. "I might have given him first."

"He didn't need first," Tammy said, not taking her eyes from the Open class in the ring. "He just needed to get out there and gait. The feet will take care of themselves when he springs a chest."

Tammy turned her head to smile at her, just to cement the "confidence" that Kasey easily recognized as bravado. Her smile turned to an expression of pleased surprise.

"Carey! I haven't seen you in like forever! When did you get back?"

Only in dogs can you be "away" and still be in your own backyard, Kasey thought.

"Kasey," she corrected in a neutral tone. "I've been staying close to home."

"Me too. This is the first time I've been out of Tennessee in almost three years. I'm surprised you didn't make it to Murfreesboro, though. Didn't you used to come to that show?"

"Memphis, Jackson, and Murfreesboro," Kasey agreed. "But it was easier to get there when gas was less expensive and I had Ste-- someone, to share the driving."

"I remember." To her credit, Tammy paused for a couple of seconds before asking. "Did they, did they ever find him?"

"No. I like to think that he's driving around Mexico or someplace, with Usher. There was nothing that big collie boy liked doing better than hopping into a crate and hopping out again someplace new."

"Amnesia? Or PTSD?"

"Both? Maybe neither? Just the despair and humiliation would be enough to keep him away." Kasey nodded toward the ring. "That's Reserve. I'd better focus. Maddie will be in soon."

~*~

It didn't take long for the rumor to spread. By the time Kasey arrived in Pensacola, "Steve" had been "seen" in every town south of the border from Mexico to Patagonia. Every brown dog remotely resembling a collie was "Usher," regardless of age, six, or even sex. With each of these claims, the wound was rubbed raw again until protective healing began to take place.

Perhaps in self-defense, Kasey even followed up on some of the "sightings" over those years, even though she knew the source of the rumors. She remained firm in her belief that Usher had met his end on I-10 and that Steve was in the waters of the Gulf. Regardless, Kasey desperately wanted to believe that someday, at least one of them would return to her. Maddie celebrated her first birthday, then her second. Both dogs received OFA certification of "excellent" for their hips and elbows. Both were free of CDA and CEA and MDR1 and all the other collie issues for which they were tested. When Roddie was three and Maddie was two and a half, they found themselves expecting puppies. If ever there was a good time for Steve to return, it was now.

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• The House of Usher, Part One: https://shopping-feedback.today/fiction/the-house-of-usher%3C/li%3E%3Cli class="css-2hn7oe-Li e12bsgp32">The House of Usher, Part Three: Coming Soon!