October 23, 2005

We didn't rescue Chancy. The town of Union Bay did that. It was fall, on a cold rainy day on northern Vancouver Island. I thought my computer was acting up, the wind was howling and there was a whine that wouldn't stop. Finally I opened the front door and there was a lab puppy all wet and miserable, scratching to be let in. I let her in and dried her off, gave her food and water and was appalled at the state of her ears. Bloody and so sore. I called the vet, the SPCA, my landlord and my husband in about that order. The vet invited me to an appointment, the SPCA said I could bring the dog in, the landlord was surprisingly sympathetic and my husband came home early. We went to the vet and got the pup fixed up. We then set about looking for her owner. Amazingly, nobody had any idea where this dog could have come from. We asked our landlords, our neighbors, the gang at the pup - no comment from anyone! Until it was clear that we'd adopted her.

We had a dog already - maybe that's what made us such marks. Everybody but us knew where that pup was chained up. Chained up outside in the rain, for days. Someone (I suspect our landlords) helped her find her way to our place - on the absolute other side of town.

Chancy stayed with us until she died at age eleven. Every night warm and dry, every day a new adventure. We ended up living on the waterfront and Chancy took herself for a swim almost every day. Whoever rescued Chancy did a wonderful thing for her and for us.

Chancy's been dead for two years now. Kady died today, she can be seen running through the surf. Chancy's in the foreground. It was a great day for all of us, and getting Chancy down the rough trail to that beach was really a success. She had heart trouble by then. Note that it was a sunny day in October! That's really something for up here. The grief of Kady's passing has me going places I don't ordinarily go. Hence my story to you about the town with pity.

Madeline McDonald
Coal Harbour, BC