Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Coming For To Carry Me Home.
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Coming For To Carry Dinah Home. My dear Dinah was shot and killed last week.
We were in the pasture and I heard a car pass but didn’t look at it. I heard a pop and Dinah fell instantly. I ran and threw myself over her for protection but when I saw her face, I knew she was dead. Why? Why? Why?
Some of our Kossacks know about Dinah’s uncanny ability to find snakes. This year she found 3 water moccasins in our yard. She was my only dog that could smell a snake and locate it. She was devoted to her job and saved us from being bitten several times.
DinahShoreII came to the ranch in 2011. I saw a silver pick-up stop by the road but didn’t see what the driver was doing. A few hours later I heard puppy sounds and there stood Dinah and DomDeluiseII. They were wagging their little tails and grinning like crazy. I bathed them and de-ticked both pups. I quit counting at 700 ticks.
Once I name a stray, that means I’m keeping them. I can’t give dogs away here because no one has the $ to support another one. I barely make it to buy dog food but when we take a dog, we can count on at least 15 years of commitment to the animal.
Dinah always acted like I had been gone all day when I drove up. I could be away 20 minutes and the reception was the same. She and Dom were devoted to each other but he really didn’t play with her. Dinah’s happiest moments were finding a bone or a stick to carry around. She pranced around the yard and grinned. I always sang a song to her that she loved. “Dinah’s got a bone, Dinah’s got a bone”. She was so proud of herself and was the biggest source of finding bones in the woods and dragging them to the house.
I buried her by the chimney as it was her favorite spot to dig and lie in. I dug for 5 hours and finally finished the grave. We had a midnight service for her and I wrapped her in her favorite bedding.
RIP, sweet Dinah.
I am at a library in Mena, Arkansas and won’t be able to reply to your comments. However, I will come over next week and catch up then.
Pat