A dog name Marlow

I don't have a picture. He came and took a meal with us and then left so fast, we had no time to stop him. Mid-sized yellow/brown dog of no discernable breed. He was hungy, tired, but in good shape and had on a collar but no tag. We were on the front porch at Apple-at-cha. It was down in the evening and we were watching the shadows ripple (cause that needs done sometimes). And in off the highway comes this dog at a lope and comes up near the porch and looks at us.

We both say, "Hi" to him and he comes nearer, but isn't sure. He's been hit or shooed away or both at some point. So he comes with his head down and his eyes looking up, in order to see what manner of human we might be. In a moment, he knows we're ok and he grins and let's us pet him.

We don't have any food with us but a can of beanie weenies, so I open that and I don't have anything to put it on, so I flatten out a bag. He's hungry. He goes for it, picks up the paper and slides the beans off onto the grass and east them there. I get him some water in a little piece of a carton.

We sit there wondering what to do, discussing it. We already know that if he'll stay, then we'll let him. We'll have to make arrangements, juggle funds to see if we can take him for a vet check. See if we can figure things out. He's just right. He doesn't bark or jump all over and he's calm. He's our kinda fellow. But though we've decided, he's not give us any ok -- he hasn't adopted us, yet.

Mark says, "You want to stay here with him while I run to the station and get him some food?"

We've named him Marlow. He's ok with the name. I'd asked him all kinds of other names and he wasn't partial to any of them. Rex, Fido, Spot, Bartholomew (he sighed, exasperated at that one). At Marlow, he looked at us and grinned.

Mark went after the food and Marlow took a nap. Then he watched cars go by. He was attentive to everything. He listened to a dog bark way off. We hear that dog a lot. He's penned and laments his condition. He watched cars going by, his head barely turning to watch the whiz of each one.

Mark comes back and I open the can of food and pour it into the dish Mark bought. Pour in a bit of the dry food, too and mix it around. Then I pour water into the other dish. Marlow looks at them both and grins up at us.

He eats like he's trying to be polite but hasn't eaten in forever. Pretty much swallows it whole. And drinks long, long at the water. I add a bit of dry to the dish now, just to let him know that food is going to be there. He sniffs it and, satisfied, goes to lay down again. But then he gets up and goes and just looks at his dishes. Then he comes to thank us. Mark pets him and I sorta pet him and say, "Ok, glad you liked it." And Marlow laughs and puts his paws on my knees and raises his right paw and gives me five. Well, ok. I get it, Marlow, you've decided we're alright. He goes to Mark and Mark scratches him under the collar and Marlow closes his eyes and Zens out and enjoys the scratching.

Then he goes off to look the place over and we figure we've maybe been adopted.  He noses here and noses there and stops to listen to the neighbors argue (Old man, old woman and their grandaughter -- cuss at each other a lot -- all the time -- it's how they get along). He listens to the dog penned up across the way. He sniffs out the rabbit trail and checks the outbuilding and rolls in the softest patch of grass and then...

Quick, he's out the drive and back on the road, heading the way he was going.

"Marlowwwwww.... come back....."

But it did no good.

Maybe we could have fastened a rope to his collar. Just till he got used to us. Maybe we could have kept him here. I don't know.

We went driving down that road, looking for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

We left out some food and water, but it's been three days. I don't think Marlow is coming back. I think he was heading somewhere specific. I think his car watching was for a particular car with a particular sound. If I'd had a camera, I would have taken his picture, put it up around and tried to see if he'd made it home.

I expect there's a someone somewhere looking for Marlow. Now there are more someones.