Welcome Home Wile E.

I live in a small town in southwestern North Dakota. I have for most of my life.

The tired old joke here is that there are more dogs than people. This isn't true. There are more cats, but not more dogs.

There are less than one hundred people here. I know each and every one of them as well as their dogs. So when a strange dog shows up in town it doesn't take too long to find out if someone got a new dog or if someone left one behind.

This happens a lot around hunting season. About once every two or three years some hunter will decide they are tired of being responsible for their four legged bundle of love.

This was the case six years ago when I spotted a Red Heeler running around town as if he were lost.

I already had a Blue Heeler, Silver. She was old and set in her ways, but I thought she might like a friend.

I was wrong. She didn't care much for our new friend. She was sixteen years old. The vet figured the new fellow was six months old.

One night I had the television on and the new dog was silhouetted in front of it. I thought to myself, "Wow. He looks just like a Coyote." It was then that I come up with his name Wile E. after the Roadrunner cartoon.

For the first two weeks that Wile E. was here he slept on the floor while Silver hogged up the whole couch. Some people discourage animals from the furniture, but I figure it's their house too.

I tried everything I could think of to make Wile E. comfortable. I even bought him a dog bed of his very own. Unfortunately, Silver wouldn't let him sleep on that either, (she was a rather cantankerous dog.)

I constantly encouraged Wile E. to make himself to home. I don't know whether it was from him being abandoned or if it was how he was treated by his previous owner, but Wile E. was never content. He seemed to look around, but he could never quite pinpoint where he should be.

One night as I sat in the kitchen eating my supper. I happened to look into the living room just in time to see Wile E. jump up in my favorite recliner.

He looked around and stared right at me. I don't know if he noticed the tear in my eye or not as he let out a peaceful sigh and fell right to sleep. He didn't hear me when I whispered, "Welcome home."