192. Fido

Prelude: Dog lover? You would love this.

Fido

Anyone who has pets will really like this. You'll like it even if you don't and may decide you need one. Mary and her husband Jim had a dog, fido. Fido was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because fido would help himself to whatever struck his fancy.

Inevitably someone would forget and something would come up missing. Mary or Jim would go to fido's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of fido's favorite toys. Fido always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease...she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with fido.

A thought struck her...what would happen to fido? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die fido will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took fido for his evening walk faithfully but the dog just drooped, whining and miserable. But finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital.

When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. fido stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. Panic soon gave way to laughter though when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed in every treasure fido owned! While she had slept the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement and back bringing his beloved mistress his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love. Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and fido began living again, walking further and further together every night.

It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Fido? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

-Chronicwriter