When the team of dog hikers received the group email from their boss, Eric replied immediately and clearly.<\/p>\n
He wrote back, \u201cI\u2019ll take her!\u201d And then followed it up with a text, \u201cKristen, I\u2019d love to adopt Ember. Tell her mom no need for a test drive. I\u2019ll commit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hoping you\u2019d take her in!\u201d Kristen wrote back.<\/p>\n
Ember was a 2-year-old, black-and-white-spotted Australian cattle dog, a breed many folks call blue heelers, a moniker Eric would soon train himself out of using. You see, Ember\u2019s breed should be known for more than their tendency to nip at heels, a skill for herding livestock. The breed is a cross between the Smithsfield\u2014an English herding dog that didn\u2019t like Australia\u2019s weather so much, a Dalmatian\u2014a hound that can hunt and protect both by tracking and heeling, and a Dingo\u2014Australia\u2019s wild dog brought to the continent by Asian seafarers 4,000 years ago (layman\u2019s translation: an Akita mixed with wolf).<\/p>\n
All this was not why Eric felt a special connection with the dog. Eric didn\u2019t even have the first clue about Ember\u2019s breed and how, in the 1800s, it saved the Australian beef industry, helping make it a perennial top-three beef exporter in the world. The running joke amongst his fellow dog hikers was that Eric convinced himself Ember had a crush on him. It explained\u2014but, not really\u2014why she\u2019d hike the trails with him when they were alone but not when they were with other dogs. She exhibited this peculiar, obstinate behavior for no other hiker but him (turned out, he simply didn’t know she’s a lot like most moms\u2014a multitasker breed\u2014and likes to hike while she plays fetch).<\/p>\n
Ember was living a happy life with her owners, a couple (let\u2019s call them Sam and Judy) who both held good jobs and owned a nice home. But, for whatever reason, they weren\u2019t happy with each other and decided to split, live separate lives, and work out a deal for Judy to keep the house. To afford that, Judy needed to upgrade her pay scale and took a lucrative job that required regular travel. She knew that keeping the house meant letting go of Ember.<\/p>\n
Eric was outside checking mail the moment Judy and Ember drove up. The car door opened, the black and white dog jumped out excitedly, and Judy, expressionless, went to her trunk to pull out a large basket of leashes and collars and chew toys and more. It was like a Petco box store reduced down to one large bin. It was at that moment it hit Eric how this was not a happy day for every party involved, and he began walking the fine line of showing only the ability to take Ember in.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me show you where she\u2019ll be and what she\u2019ll have around her,\u201d Eric said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOK,\u201d was all Judy could muster.<\/p>\n
Judy explained each item in the big bin they carried up the stairs together. Ember wagged her tail and walked the fine line of\u2014in her mind\u2014showing others the way while waiting for any cue from them to tell her to do something new.<\/p>\n
There were no surprises in that box, but Judy explained each item, which ones were used, which ones were new, which ones Ember likes, which ones Ember doesn\u2019t. Somewhere between the rundown of the joint-health chewables and the nail clipper, Eric realized he was not being given a tutorial. He was watching a woman’s most core nature come into play. Working out in her mind a traumatically unanswerable and tragically unfair question to ask, \u201cHow does a mother give up her foal?\u201d<\/p>\n
When Judy realized there were no more details or how-tos to tell, she fell silent quickly. Eric didn\u2019t know what to say exactly, so he practiced saying nothing at all, put his arms around Judy and just let her cry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I failed her,\u201d Judy wept.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve done an amazing job,\u201d Eric said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake pictures? Maybe when I\u2019m in town, a hike?\u201d Judy asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d Eric replied. \u201cAs many or as few as you need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judy wiped her tears, saw Ember take notice of Eric\u2019s cat, nodded OK, and prepared for the most painful part of it all. Eric nodded in return. Ember heard the front door open and watched it close, catching sight of her mom\u2019s right heel as she left out the door. Ember looked up at Eric, whined to tell him what to do, and looked back a time or two at the gap of space where the bottom of the door should be more flush to the floor.<\/p>\n
Eric breathed and sighed for a silent moment as he watched Ember let the thought of Judy’s location and need circle one more time through, then said to his new pooch two of her favorite words, \u201cWanna play?!\u201d<\/p>\n
And Ember did just that, still to this day.<\/p>\n
How does a mother give up her foal? How she gives birth\u2014in pain, and with an unending belief her sacrifice serves what\u2019s best.<\/p>\n