Lightning's Story

It was in the early 70's, My dad was an Airforce Enlisted man. We were living in Tacoma Washington when my dad received orders to go to Japan.

He went to Japan, the family followed several months later. My mom took no time at all finding us a church to go to. She also got to know several American Missionaries who spoke fluent Japanese.

At that time, we didn't have a family pet. We had always had cats and dogs in the house, but for some reason we hadn't got around to filling the void in our family.

A Missionarry couple was retiring. They had a full-grown collie that they couldn't take back to the States. They asked my folks if they wanted a dog.

My siblings and I waited with our parents for our dog to arrive. The Missionarries brought him into the house. The collie looked around curiously.

He checked us out and explored the house. It took a few days, but soon enough he was right at home.

I loved that dog. The Missionaries named him Lightning, and that name stuck with him. I was the oldest, so I happily took the responsibility to walk, brush and bathe him.

When the Base closed down, we were relocated to another Base in another part of Japan. Barney went with us. The family loved Lightning, he was a part of the family.

Three years later, our time in Japan had run out. We looked into ways of taking Lightening home with us. We found out that it wasn't practical.

He was an older dog, and he was big for a collie. I don't think they had cages big enough to transport a dog that big. He was also an older dog.

He wouldn't handle the trip without a dangerous level of sedation. my mom found a Missionary family to take the best dog I ever had.

The night the family came to take my dog, I fought back tears as I watched them get to know my dog. Too soon, they placed the leash on Lightening's collar and took him to their car.

My lips quivered as I ran upstairs, I went to my room to get ready to take a shower. I didn't want anyone to see me cry. I was under the shower crying my eyes out when my dad knocked on the door to the bathroom.

I reached from behind the shower curtain to open the door. My dad wrapped his arms around me, and with the shower still running, we stood together and cried.

The next few weeks flew by. We were back in the States, and for a lot of reasons the family wasn't happy. It was time for my dad to choose another duty assignment.

He filled out the form. He chose Bases in Europe, Alaska and he needed one last base. He wrote down Yokota AirForce Base. The Base we left a year and a half earlier.

We were sent back to Yokota. We settled in quickly, most of the students and teachers I knew were still there. It was good to be back, but something was missing.

One day my mom and one of my younger brothers were coming out of a convenience store on Base. My brother stopped to look at the bulletin board by the exit.

" Mom, mom, look at this, someone is giving away our dog." My mom didn't believe my brother, but he was insistent. My mom took the Index card from the bulletin board.

Mom and my brother came home yelling that they found Lightning. The family excitedly stood around mom as she called the number.

" Tell me about your dog," she said after the introductions. She listened as the man on the other end of the line told her about how his family got the dog.

" Well, we got Lightning from another Missionary family, and they got him from an Airforce family. He said our last name. My mom sighed.

" Bring our dog home." She said as our family lost our minds. The Missionaries wanted to bring him the next day, after giving him a bath.

We wouldn't have it, we wanted Lightening home that night. A few hours later, we heard a car park outside and a familiar excited bark. We opened the door. Lightening walked in and looked around, sniffing everything the way dogs do.

I could see the light bulb in his head turn on when it dawned on him he was home. He barked and jumped all over us. He made himself at home as if he had never left.

I was happy to have him back, I resumed his daily brushing and nightly walks. The family felt complete. We didn't see the heartbreak that was coming.

The Missionaries turned him into an outside dog. This exposed him to insects that lead to lightning getting Heartworms. By the time we discovered this, it was too late.

We tried to help him, the Veterinarian's treatments made Lightening sicker. It was terrible to watch. We finally made the decision that all pet families hate to make.

I didn't cry. it might have been because I was a few years older. It might have been a relief because he wasn't suffering anymore. I didn't cry, but something inside of me died.

I'm in my sixties now, but I still tear up when I think about that collie. I suppose I always will.