Our Girl Minnie

I'd like to tell you about a dear friend of mine. She was a 16-year-old Border Collie named Minnie. She was very special to everyone because although she's experienced hard times in her life, her sweet nature and undaunting zest for life never wavered. She was the gentlest soul I've ever known in an animal, and I'd like to tell you her story.

When my husband and I started out in the guest ranch business, we worked in partnership at his uncle's ranch until we could buy our own. At that time, Minnie didn't belong to us. She was one of the ranch dogs and that was about it but everyone who met Minnie adored her. She became well-known for her good nature and more importantly her smile! Yes! she smiled!

During the years we ran the guest ranch, Minnie accompanied us on every trail ride. When out riding with a group, people would point towards a distant hillside at the small, black and white figure effortlessly bounding over bushes and chasing rabbits.

When Minnie was about 8 years old. My husband's cousin brought in another female. Her name was Pecky and that's when the trouble started. She hated Minnie from day one. She bared her teeth at her and picked fights. There was nothing Minnie could do to win Pecky's acceptance.

The tension grew steadily worse until one day, we spotted Minnie just outside the fence line watching us from afar. This worried me because it was obvious Pecky wanted to push her away.

One morning when out riding with a group I scanned every inch of the trail looking for Minnie, but she was nowhere to be found. After an hour or so we dismounted and stopped for a short break. While I was tying my horse to a tree branch guess who appeared from underneath one of the bushes? Minnie! She was following us the whole time!

Everyone in the group was aware of the tension between the two dogs. They were as relieved as I was to see Minnie smiling and prancing for us once again. We gathered around her and gave her a good belly rub which she loved!

Then, out of nowhere, a blur of fur sailed past us and landed directly on top of Minnie. It was Pecky. In all her fury she pinned Minnie to the ground. My then 17-year-old son came to Minnie's defense. He grabbed Pecky by the tail with one hand and by the scruff of her neck with the other and flung her into the bushes,

Unfortunately, no one hadn’t noticed our proximity to the ravine's edge or the 5ft drop below. With Pecky out of the way we thought the fight was over, but we couldn't have been more wrong.

Fierce growling from within the bushes forced us to turn around. This time Pecky's eyes were filled with pure rage. She charged Minnie again and sent Minnie tumbling over the edge of the ravine to the rocks below. I couldn't believe my eyes or ears; it sounded like a watermelon split open when she hit the ground.

My son and I ran to the bottom of the ravine where we found her lying in the grass not far from where she fell. My dear Minnie. I still remember how she smiled at us and wagged her tail even though the top of her head was bleeding and blood trickled through her nose.

I was beside myself with worry, but we couldn't carry her back. My husband reminded me we were responsible for 16 university students that day. Plus, Minnie wasn't our dog. If she didn't want to come back with us there was nothing we could do. Logically, I understood everything he was saying even though it went against my better judgement to leave her there.

The following morning after the group left, I saddled my horse and raced back to the spot where we last saw her. I called her repeatedly. I looked under bushes near the ravine half expecting to find her lying dead under a tree, but I never found her. All I could do was hope nature took its course and she would heal from her injuries.

Three months passed and during that time in the summer of 2006 my husband and I bought our own ranch. We began to build and begin our own venture in the guest ranch business but this time, on our own land.

During that hot summer, my husband went into town for supplies. He just happened to run into his cousin who owned Minnie and Pecky. After chatting for a while my husband asked about Minnie and his cousin said she was last seen somewhere near the Indian reservation. Roughly 12 miles from his ranch. My husband asked if he was going to get her, and his cousin said no. He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care anymore. Raul asked him if we could have her and he said sure.

This was the moment we entered the detective business; my husband and son knew she was on the reservation but where? It took a bit of poking around but we finally located her living with a couple not far from the center of town.

It was just a few days after we discovered her location that we hatched a rescue plan. My husband and son drove out to the reservation in two separate trucks. My son, Ricky, entered the property from one side, and my husband, Raul, from the other. Kind of like an ambush in a gangster movie?

Raul stepped out of the vehicle and spotted Minnie right away with a litter of 3-month-old puppies. Fortunately, the puppies were old enough to eat puppy food. The lady of the house was caught by surprise. she demanded to know what they were doing there.

"We want the dog," Raul said in a gruff voice. He pointed at Minnie. Then he looked at Ricky and sternly told him to put her in the car which he did.

"How much do you want for puppy food?" he asked abruptly.

"$20.00 dollars will do."

Raul pulled out the equivalent of $20.00 dollars in pesos and handed it to her. He jumped in the car and took off with Ricky and Minnie right behind him leaving the lady in a cloud of dust.

Minnie was the first dog at our new ranch. She lived with us until she was 19 years old and as she aged, she stopped going on trail rides and took up guarding the horse corrals which became a very serious job for her.

If she was having a good day, she was very affectionate but sometimes she preferred to be alone. Her sweet temperament remained the same until her last breath at the age of 19.

Just so you know how important Minnie was to us. One day we heard a terrible howling and crying. A stupid rooster was sitting on top of Minnie's head pecking at her. She was so old she couldn't move to defend herself, so Raul ran for his shot gun and blew the old rooster in half.

"No one bothers Minnie!" And that was that.

Minnie had gone through many trials in her life. Her shyness around other dogs and sometimes people showed she hadn't forgotten her experiences. I often wonder what happened to her during those three months she went missing after her fight with Pecky.

We used to go for long walks although I didn't see her much except at a distance through the trees or roaming the hillsides. She still soared over bushes but now they were smaller.

Like people we are all different and our experiences both good and bad have played a role in molding us into who we are today. I saw this in Minnie and sometimes I see it in myself.

I made a promise to Minnie that I would make sure the rest of her days were happy and filled with tremendous amounts of love and affection. As I mentioned before everyone who met Minnie adored her. My promise came true.