An ode to a Dog by Reid Millis

 Luna  

I stared out the window at the passing scenery as we made our way out into the outskirts of Salem.  Luna hung her head out the window, drooling at the forest aromas.  I thought about how hard it was going to be to leave Luna, but how exciting it was to be going to a new country.  

My mom turned onto a little gravel lane, and we bumped down along it in my grandma’s car.  Horses stuck their heads over the fences by the side of the road and whinnied at us.  As we came to a stop below their house, two women came down the wooden steps. I got out and Luna bounded out behind me running around smelling the grass and bushes.

Luna’s new owners lived in a two story brown house that sat on a thickly wooded hill.    A field lay below the house where their four goats grazed.  One of them was veterinarian and owned a cat clinic and the other was a massage therapist.  We walked up the stairs and through the front door, Luna panting and wagging her tail happily.  We all sat down in the living room to chat.  They told us about the animals they had had in the past, and their dog that had recently died. One of their many cats wobbled in to check Luna out.  It was very old and half blind and had half of its belly hair shaved off because it needed an IV.  It missed its old dog friend that had passed the following year and was in need of a new friend.  Luna tolerated him but didn’t seem very delighted about her new buddy.   

We walked outside to go check out their goats and take a walk in the nearby park.  They had four goats, two big males and two older smaller females.  We continued along the lane  stopping to eat blackberries every so often.  When we came to the park, Luna jumped into the creek and splashed around, happily chewing on a stick.  Then continued up the trail to the top of the hill Luna chased squirrels and rabbit in the underbrush.  As we came over the top of the knoll, we could see far over the rolling grassy hills.  Luna ran around rolling in the grass joyfully, and we laughed as she tried to catch a bee in her mouth.  I found some more blackberries and threw them to her.  She caught them jumping high into the air, doing 360s in mid air.  When we all got tired of watching Luna doing acrobatics, we started back down the trail to their house.

     Back in their living room I lay down next to Luna and talked quietly into her ear explaining that

 we  were going to leave her here. When it was finally time to go, I got up and she followed me to

 the door ready to go, but was confused when we started to leave without her.  I told her goodbye,

  and that I would be back.  She wagged her tail, and tried to follow us out to the car, but when I 

told her to stay she obediently sat and watched us leave.  I tried to tell myself I would see her 

again, but it was still so hard to say goodbye.  I looked back and saw her looking out the window

 after the car, but then we rounded the corner at the bottom of the hill and she disappeared from 

my view.