Maybeline our black lab retriever mix loved to catch frogs in the pond. She didn’t want to hurt them she wanted to play. You could find Maybe with frogs legs dangling out of her mouth and then she would drop the frog at your feet, like a special offering. Sometimes the frog would get injured from her playful game but mostly they ended up back safely in the pond.

Maybe was also known to chase the cars who were driving too fast down our road. The speed limit was only 25 and Maybe could run about 30 mph. She would bark at the front tire and scare the person driving into slowing down. One day I was riding my bike on the road and one of these cars came by and Maybe ran so fast past me to get the car she knocked me right off of my bike. I couldn’t even be mad at Maybe because I knew she thought it was her duty to protect us.

When we had turkeys to herd to another pasture we let Maybe help because nothing makes a turkey walk faster than a barking dog. Sometimes she would get carried away and start biting the turkey and we would have to call her off but she always listened. She loved her buddy Trucker who was my friend Meem’s dog, an Australian shepherd who was even better than her at herding than Maybe was. They would work together just like me and Meem would helping the turkeys make their way to greener grass and shade too.

On Friday night when Billy and Jerry, father and son farm-hands came over to do “Friday night rat hunting” Maybe was always there to help them find the rats. Usually they were by the feeders steeling the turkeys food. She would often find rats and birds and she would leave them on our doorstep like a prize. I never looked forward to seeing her finds. My Dad thought that was funny because I always turned up my nose when things were gross or stinky. He called me “Ms. Nose”.

Maybe was so sweet and at night when I was sad or lonely she was always there with cuddles and loves. I remember one time when we got to wash the dogs in the large turkey bins and Maybe didn’t take long at all to role in something stinky right after. Many a night she had to spend it in the hallway because she had been sprayed by a skunk.

One morning was sunny and bright and I was wearing my first day back to school clothes as I walked down the hill to our bus stop. Maybe was down in the neighbors yard chasing a raccoon. My stomach sank when I realized that raccoons who you see during the day are often rabid. I called her off yelling over and over but she was persistent. She wasn’t about to let her kids (my sister and I) get hurt by a raccoon. She was barking at the raccoon and nipping at its heels to get it to run off but it was not wanting to budge.

Two weeks later we still hadn’t seen from Maybe and I still am sad knowing she probably went somewhere to die from her rabies. She was the best dog though and I am glad I got to tell you some stories about her when she was a young and thriving pup.