My Dog Ruthie Poem by Saiom Shriver

Less cautious in those days,
when receiving the answering service
call that a reddish haired dog with a broken leg and
her puppy were under someone's porch,
I crawled under the porch to retrieve them.
Stupidly I caught the black curlyhaired puppy
first. Even so, the mother did not harm me.
She was taken to a veterinarian who set her leg.
He said she was a throwback wolf. Her puppy
was placed in a loving home.
It was a surprise to find she had immediately
bonded with me and so she was adopted. Months went by.
Having to be away for the weekend, I took her
to a kennel. Returning, I was told she had
crawled up the 6 foot chain link fence and jumped over
but had been circling in the fields waiting. When she
saw me, she shot forward running like the wind.
She also had exceptional smell and hearing.
But these qualities were nothing in comparison
to her loyalty, intelligence and unconditional love.