I found Maya on my doorstep early one windy morning. It was fast asleep and uttering soft, painful sounds, that only a dog can make. I noticed two other things that would change our lives forever.
I was still wearing my pajamas, and I wanted to grab the newspaper before Dad woke up. Being Sunday he usually sleeps a bit late. But I was now faced with the problem of what to do with this dog. I decided not to get involved, picked up the newspaper, and headed back in.
As soon as I opened the door, the sleeping dog rushed passed me and then sat on the newly vacuumed carpet. She looked up at me, as I placed my arms on my hip. This animal was rather cunning, I thought. I was about to put her outside, but then she raised her left front paw.
‘How sweet, where did you learn to do that?’’ I closed the door behind me. ‘okay, you have won my attention.’
I took its paw, but it winched again and uttered that soft painful whine, just as before. I examined it and noticed that the paw had a cut on it and was slightly swollen. Someone had hit this poor dog.
I went to the refrigerator and brought it some snacks, it ate it all rather quickly, then looked at me with those beautiful eyes again. I ran upstairs to the first aid cabinet and quickly cleaned the wound and dressed it with a liquid healer.
Maya was wearing a collar but there was no inscription on it. This complicated the issue, but indeed it made me happy. After all, I wished now to make it part of our family. Although Mom and Dad were cautious, they allowed me to keep it for a while. They would spread announcements in the meantime, to see if there was an owner who wished to get the dog back.
After two months and no replies, my parents officially changed the collar, placing the name I picked, Maya, and our name and address in the inscription.
Maya turned out to be more than a bag of fur. She could shake hands, catch anything, including freebies, in her mouth, roll over, and walk on her hind legs. I made her so popular on almost all our social media, as Maya the Family Friend.
Last year, 2021, the police department issued a warning of a felon who was defrauding families of jewels and cash. Although they did not have a picture, they created a photo sketch from the descriptions of the victims.
Each victim had a different story. Some of them said he came by as a plumber, others said he appeared as an electrician. But in the end, he robbed them of jewelry and a large amount of money. One of the stories caught my interest.
A young mother had received the crook as a gardener. While she was busy taking the clothes inside, the crook tried to steal her homemade chest with all her family jewelry and cash. But her dog had come to the rescue, biting first his boots and then his feet. The thief had fled the scene when he heard her coming inside.
The dog had given chase, but he must have killed it because she had never seen it again.
I looked over at Maya, she wagged her tail and barked at the young woman. She seemed to have recognized her. I believed this was our dog. I decided not to tell my parents, knowing that they would want me to return the dog.
Two weeks later, the police reportedly arrested the criminal, but then when witnesses failed to identify him from a lineup, he was set free again. But was kept under surveillance. This made me more relaxed knowing that no one would be searching for Maya.
One evening Dad came home boasting about his new partner, Billy. They had met a few days ago and were looking to start a new business.
The following Sunday Billy came over to meet the rest of the family. He was a tall, slim man, in his mid-forties, with brown eyes and black hair. He was wearing grey jeans with a white T-shirt.
I left Maya upstairs in my bedroom. And went to lunch with Dad, Mom, and our visitor. Mom served her famous stuffed turkey with Chinese rice.
Billy never failed to mention how good the food was and how he would get the recipe for his wife.
I noticed how he kept looking at his watch every few minutes, and I was convinced that he had somewhere else to go. Dad talked about his painting jobs and how much he was hoping to get up and running soon.
Billy mentioned his success with the farm on the other side of town and how the repair shop would help with diversity
We were all busy chatting when the smoke started entering. We ran outside and discovered that there was a fire burning in the cellar. Dad called the fire department and instructed us to rush inside and grab all that we could.
That was when we noticed that Billy was missing. Did he ditch us in the middle of a disaster? We rushed inside and heard Maya barking. Oh, Maya! I have forgotten you. I ran upstairs with Mom close on my heels.
The sight was humourous. Maya was clinging to Billy,’s feet, he was on his back trying to get loose.
‘Get this monster off me, at once!’ he ordered.
I started toward the dog, but then I noticed that there was something strange about his mustache. The right-hand corner was lifted. I paused over him, then as quickly as I could, I yanked the false piece off.
Billy grabbed my arm and Maya bit into his leg. He echoed a scream and planted a hard kick in Maya’s mouth. I plunged my boot into his stomach and he grunted just as my dad pinned him to the floor. I had no idea that Dad could fight that well.
Dad pulled at Billy’s hair and a wig came loose in his. He lifted him to his feet and tied his hands behind his back. Dad demanded to know just who he was. But Billy kept silent.
When the police got there, we discovered that he was the con artist who had been robbing everyone. The police took him away, muttering over and over, can’t believe my luck, that dog again.
The vet gave Maya a shot to help with the pain. She had no wound or fracture. I still wonder though, what was her name before.
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I have dogs but none are like Maye. I had a rotuiller but he died a couple of years back. He was the best dog I've ever had. I love how Maya is so bright in giving someone a handshake and even recognizing intruders. My dog called Black, died from food poisoning. The neighbors never liked him, I wish he were bright like Maye he would have recognized that the chunk of meat was poisoned.
I hope you got to keep Maya; the owner never returned for it.