Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul: Stories of Canine Companionship, Comedy and Courage [NOOK Book]

Patience Rewarded

Albert Payson Terhune, the famed dog writer of the
1920s and 1930s who authored the Lassie books, often told
this story about his friend Wilson to illustrate the deep love
that people and dogs share. It also shows how sometimes
what seems to be in the best interest of all concerned may
not apply when one of those concerned is a dog.

Wilson’s dog, Jack, was an energetic, six-year-old collie
that would meet him every day at the trolley station
when Wilson returned from work. This was a ritual that
had begun when Jack was a pup. The dog knew the route
to and from the station like the back of his paw—and following
that route was the highlight of his day. So when
Wilson changed jobs and had to move to California, he
thought it best to leave Jack on his home turf in Philadelphia
with a relative. He explained all this to the dog upon leaving
and told him that they both would have to adjust to
new homes.

But Jack didn’t want a new home. He would not stay
with the family he’d been left with. He returned to
Wilson’s old house, even though it was boarded up,
and there he passed his solitary days beside an abandoned
chair beneath the portico. But every evening, tail
wagging, he trotted off to the trolley station. For as long
as Jack had been in the world, Wilson had always taken
the same trolley home from work, and Jack had been
there to greet him. But evening after evening, there was
no sign of the devoted dog’s master. Confused and sad,
he would return alone to the deserted house.

Thedog’s depression grew. He refused the food left for
him, and as the days passed, he became thinner and thinner,
his ribs noticeable even through his thick blond coat.
But every evening, ever hopeful, he’d go to the station to
meet the trolley. And every evening, he’d return to the
porch more despondent than before.

No one knows why Jack’s new family didn’t contact
Wilson, but Jack’s deteriorating condition did not go unnoticed.
A friend who lived nearby was so upset by it that
he took it upon himself to send a telegram to Wilson in
California, informing him of the dog’s situation.
That was all it took.

Wilson bought a return train ticket immediately; he
knew what he had to do. Upon arriving in Philadelphia,
he waited several hours just so that he could take the
same trolley that he always did when coming home.
When it arrived at the station, sure enough, there was
Jack, waiting and watching as the passengers got off.
Looking and hoping. And then suddenly there he was, his
beloved owner. His master had returned at last! Jack’s
world was whole once more—and so was Wilson’s.
Wilson later told Terhune, “Jack was sobbing almost
like a child might sob. He was shivering all over as if he
had a chill. And I? Well, I blew my nose and did a lot of
fast winking.”

Wilson took his devoted dog, Jack, back to California
with him. They were never separated again.

-Hester Mundis

©2005. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.