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It had been a typical drive home for Terry as he turned into the dirt drive. He looked up to see panic in the eyes of his wife. His heart skipped a beat as he looked around for the cause of his wife's chagrin. It struck him; King was not waiting for him, as was the norm. His faithful mixed breed German Shepard was nowhere to be seen. Terry looked frantically for his dirty brown and black friend. No matter the hour Terry arrived home, King was always waiting for him. Something was dreadfully wrong.

"Where is King?" He asked, leaping from the truck"

Betty replied, "I don't know. Sheba was just here and then she ran off. She has done that several times."

Sheba was a black, mixed breed, Husky. She had been rescued from a family that gave her little attention. No doubt she had been beaten since she would not let anyone from her former family near her. Eventually the people told Terry and Betty to keep her since she stayed with them all the time. They had come to love her, as she had come to love them.

Terry stood at the bottom of the steps to his home and looked panicky around for his friend. He had decided to wait for Sheba to return in hopes she might take him to King. Moments later the Husky returned. Terry, Betty and her daughter, Brandy, went off in a trot to keep up with Sheba. Once the dog saw that someone was following her, she slowed her pace to make sure they continued to follow.

Ahead was the forest. It was one they had never been in. The overwhelming desire to find a lost friend over rode any fears of going into a strange forest at night.

Once in the forest, Sheba slowed even more to make sure her family was close behind. The three humans and the dog all huddled close in the wobbly beam of the flashlight as they made their way into the thick woods. It was hard going to stay with Sheba. Dogs often took a path that humans had trouble treading.

Suddenly, the night was filled with a familiar sound. It was a bark they all knew so well. It was King. Excitedly they rushed toward the sound. Sheba, somehow, sensing the humans did not need her help any longer, ran to her friend.

Moments later, King's big brown eyes were looking at them. He was dancing wildly as his excited yelps echoed through the surrounding darkness. Everyone rushed to him and began to hug their friend and soon his fur was matted with the tears of those that loved him.

Anger soon replaced the tears as they began to focus on what had kept King away from them. Somehow, his chain, that was sometimes used to keep him from wandering, was tangled/tied to a tree. The knot seemed too precise for it to have been by accident.

Several weeks later this scene was repeated. King had been missed and Sheba led her family to him once more. He has been tied to the exact same tree. This time it was obviously not an accident. No one ever found out who had been the culprit, but it never happened again, thankfully.

That night Sheba was declared a hero. King and Sheba became even closer, if that's possible. He even helped care for the puppies they later shared.

Learn more about this author, Tammy Crain.
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