Meg - The Whirlwind

You blew in and blew out again all within three months. I found you wandering down the side of the road on the night of a Friday barbecue and your owners weren’t really bothered if I took you home or gave you back, so of course I took you home. Three months later you died on the road after wandering off from all other dogs and humans at the Friday barbecue. In that three months you loved with all your heart and lived with all your being. Any adventure worth finding and you would find it. Walks with Barb in the morning, chasing horses, rousing on cattle, dragging things into the scrub, splashing in water. You caused endless frustration with your escapades to the point that I nearly regretted taking you on. But your smile and sweet affection resolved those feelings until your next round of naughtiness. I’m glad I took you to the station that day. It was the only big day where it was just you and me. You met so many other friendly dogs and (amazingly) did not chase any horses. You got bored with me cleaning troughs and fixing fences. An hour and a half into the job you were buggered, bored and asleep in the shade of the car. You had many names. Your proper name was Meg. You were called by “Meggy”, mistakenly called “Peggy”, taunted as “Nutmeg” or “Mouser”, thought of fondly as Junior and was even given the name of “Sprinkles” by the kids due to your erratic persona. You were described in appearance as being like a fox, a mountain dingo, run-out or scrawny. It didn’t matter how much you were fed, you’d burn off all that food in an instant. You looked and behaved nothing like your grandma/namesake. Camp is now eerily quiet and the horses walk in without hesitation. Kip is bored and indifferent. She’s relieved to not have you bugging her anymore yet at the same time she’s sad to not have anyone to play with. We’re both sad. My face is sore from so many tears. You had a warm goodbye. Hector and Tate were present as well as their owners who so carefully laid you to rest. You live on in memory and in sustenance for the tree you are buried under. A spirit like yours can never cease, only wander.