Wishbone's Surprise

It was drizzling out that Sunday morning when Wishbone and I headed out on our walk. Wishbone is my Jack Russell Terrier and my best friend.

Nobody else was out at 7:30 am, and I sighed with relief because Wishbone sometimes barks at other dogs, letting them know that he’s the one in charge.

As we made our way down Cherry Street, Wishbone stopped to sniff something, which isn’t unusual, but he was interested in a black notebook.

I heard footsteps in the distance and looked up to see if another dog walker was coming our way, but it was only Joe, the local speed walker. No matter what the weather was, old Joe wore a beige sport coat.

After 12-minutes of sniffing had passed, I figured Wishbone and I should be on our way. “Come on Wishbone,” I prompted. He picked up the notebook and looked up at me.

“Wait a minute,” I said. “What do you need that for?” I gently removed the notebook from his vice-like jaws and to my surprise a hundred-dollar bill fell out! I looked down and when I realized no one else was around, I knelt and looked through this black notebook.

To my surprise, there were one-hundred-dollar bills taped to many pages of this black notebook. I patted Wishbone on his sweet little head. We finished our walk, went home, and I counted out these gorgeous bills that totaled $20,000!

“Wow!” I thought, as I went to the grocery store and bought Wishbone a New York Strip steak as his reward.

After an hour or so, I began to wonder whose money was I possession of? Should I call the police? Did it belong to a drug dealer? Just because no one else was out except for old Joe, doesn’t mean someone wasn’t looking out of their window.

I began to pray, and I soon realized everything would be okay. I quickly realized I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone of my newly found wealth. Money can pay the bills of course, but it also attracts users.

I didn’t have money for necessities, including food, for so long that it might raise suspicion among my friends and neighbors. Perhaps finding this money would prove to be a hinderance and not a blessing as I originally thought.

“Well, that’s too damn bad,” I told myself. Wishbone finding that money was meant to be.

I made a grocery list to top all others. I even bought myself name brand shampoo and hairspray. I filled the freezer with all of Wishbone’s favorites. I also took him to the vet for a well-check visit. I learned early in life to never live beyond your means. Even with this “extravagance,” I still have money left over.

As tight-lipped as I was, Wishbone wasn’t! I noticed a difference in the way other dogs behaved while we were out on our daily walks. Other dogs were bowing down to him and keeping quiet while we passed them by.

“How strange,” I thought. I noticed something else too – Wishbone wasn’t finishing his all-meat meals anymore. He was stuffing his steak and chunks of chicken in a paper towel after I secured his harness and dropped them on our front stoop. He was sharing with his canine friends! My little guy has such a big heart.

“That’s something we can do together,” I exclaimed to him.

The very next day, while out with my Wishbone on our daily walk, I asked every person with a dog if they needed help feeding their dogs. Some people were offended, but most people said yes. I asked them their dog’s food preferences and stocked them all up.

A few of the neighbors asked me how I could afford to do this for so many other dogs in the neighborhood. I just shrugged and said, “It’s coming from Wishbone. He’s a genius!” He and I shared a mischievous glance because we were the only two on the planet who knew where the help had come from.

Our story doesn’t end here. Wishbone passed away on January 1, 2021. This is one adventure I wish we had had before he passed. He is greatly missed, and I know for a fact he earned his angel wings.