The Wolf

Here at the Lady’s Camp, I have a strict friendly-dog only policy. All breeds, sizes and ages are welcome. If they are friendly, my doors, my arms and my heart are open and I prepare for their arrival with gleeful anticipation.  

Last week was the first time a vicious dog came to the camp. This was not just any mean dog. This dog was a wolf! One whom I expected, but did not invite! As I prepared for his arrival, my anticipation was anything but gleeful.

A few of the humans, who bring my regular boarders, tell me that their dogs know when they are close to The Lady’s Camp and show their excitement by happily wagging their tails. One pup’s dad even tells me that she smiles. 

Though I don’t possess the keen senses of those pups, I only had to hear his menacing growl, to know the wolf was almost here. When he crept closer, he bared his teeth, snarled, snapped at me, and filled me with bone-chilling dread. 

Unlike other dogs who come to stay with me, he was neither welcome on the couch nor bed. Not so much as an open door awaited him.

During his first evening at camp, I watched him ravage my woods. Through the night he kept me awake as he howled relentlessly. He huffed and he puffed and tried to blow my house down. This big bad wolf was fierce enough to split a giant oak in half. 

And before the sun rose the next morning, he brought down several more old and towering trees with such vengeance that they demolished breaker boxes, pulled down electrical wires and took out my power. 

The wolf’s hunger and wrath were so powerful, that when he moved on to new hunting grounds, he left devastation in his wake. 

Though the wolf did not stay long, I won't soon forget his name. And I hope to never again encounter him or others from his pack. He was a monster. Yet unlike the stuff of nightmares and the Brothers Grimm, Ian was very, very real.

In spite of the wolf's rage, the heavens smiled upon The Lady's Camp. The power is on, pups are scheduled and well-being is restored. In the aftermath of the monster wolf, I am grateful that my only pain was inconvenience. Yet, my heart aches for all of his victims; especially those who's lives the wolf destroyed during his savage rampage.