Once Bitten, Twice Shy

She raced over to Brutus and positioned the sack behind him. Ignoring his whines and growls, she grabbed his feet and rolled him over so that he was lying on the sack. It was going to take two hands to pull him - two hands and all her strength. She turned and threw the pitchfork toward the barn. Placing the flashlight on Brutus, she grabbed the sack with both hands and tugged. The sack and dog moved about two feet. Again she tugged and accomplished about the same. The wild dogs were gathering around the circle of light now, and two of them boldly began to devour Penny. She hated to leave the little doe for them, but maybe their interest in the goat would keep them occupied long enough to get Brutus into the barn. Three of the dogs ignored the feast, intent on her progress toward the barn. Where was the pitchfork?

She glanced around. Maybe five feet away. She turned back to find one of the dogs advancing. Grabbing the flashlight, she shined it into his eyes, screaming again. He backed up a few feet and stopped, lowering his head and growling in a way that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She lunged frantically again, dragging Brutus nearly four feet this time. Thank God for adrenaline. The smart thing to do would be to abandon Brutus for the safety of the barn. If the dogs got any closer, she would have to.

Tug, scream, shine the flashlight, throw the pitchfork toward the barn. Tug . . . the closer she got to the barn, the braver the wild dogs got. And then the telephone buzzer rang. Who would be calling at this hour? Was it possible that Josh had heard the noise and was checking?

“Oh, please, God. Send me some help. Don’t let Brutus die.”

The dogs were distracted momentarily by the sound of the telephone, but when it stopped ringing, they advanced further. She jerked on the sack again. She was getting tired and her efforts were less productive. Two more tugs and then she saw lights coming down the drive.

“Thank you, God!”

She tugged again and one of the dogs moved closer, baring his teeth. She screamed at him and flashed the light in his eyes, but he wasn’t impressed. She stumbled back and grabbed the pitchfork, jabbing it at him. He fell back a few feet and snarled at her. A vehicle door slammed and Josh was yelling for her to get back.