Missing Timber...

I was a newly-wed. We had a nice apartment on the second floor of a big house with a fenced backyard. I wanted a puppy so badly, but on a college budget, we weren't sure we could afford it. I was training for the Dallas 26K marathon. For a year I had faithfully put in my miles, watched my diet & lifted weights, preparing to represent my college in the race. I had a lot of endurance. One day on my training run, a greasy man in an ugly old car started harassing me. I had stopped beside a horse pasture to stretch & rest before the 4 mile run back to town. I was looking over the fence when I heard a car pull up behind me & stop. I turned around and this big guy in a dirty T-shirt with camo. pants was getting out & walking around the front end of the car toward me. Not good! "Are these your horses?" he asked. I told him "No". He came a little closer and my heart started pounding in my chest-- instincts screamed in my head "Better run, get away..." "I want to buy a horse for my wife and I thought maybe you'd sell me one of these" the man continued as he came closer. I thought to myself, "Any man who drives a rusted-out car with a bondo paint job can't afford to buy a horse for his wife". I prayed "God, send some cars so there's somebody out here besides us." A whole stream of cars came over the hill. The man looked annoyed. Now he was only 15 ft. away from me. Taking the cigar out of his mouth, he threw it on the ground and snuffed it out menacingly with a boot. I knew he was freeing up both hands to try and grab me. I said, "See ya" and I took off running for the nearest house. Thanks to my flaming Scotch-Irish genes, I have no shortage of adrenaline when I'm frightened or angry- my feet fairly flew over the ground as I put distance between the would-be predator and myself. I glanced back over my shoulder to see him make a bee-line for his car. The engine revved, tires squealed and he drove up behind me. I thought, "Oh God, don't let him run me down like a dog!" I stayed in the grass along the fence- which made it tougher to run. The car passed me, went over the hill, then brakes squealed, rubber burned and back he came. He was staring at me as he drove by, then I heard the same thing and he came up my side of the road again. "Lord help me- this man is pshycho!" I was coming up on some houses and walked up to the first one as if I lived there. The car went over the hill again. Nobody was home, so I quickly ran to the next house- same story. I hid behind some bushes to see the car go by again- the man was staring out the window trying to spot me. When he was outta sight, I took off again & didn't stop until I was back on campus.
I told the police, then my husband about the incident and they all said, "From now on you either get a running partner or you run on a treadmill where it's safe." Treadmills are BORING and I don't enjoy running with someone. Here was my opportunity to get a DOG! I said a prayer & 3 days later I saw a free puppy ad. I called about it & when I saw the puppy I fell in love with the cutest little yellow Lab mix you ever did see! She was 6 mos old. I trained that dog, and she grew to be the BEST running partner I ever had. Nobody ever messed with me after that. Timber did all kinds of tricks & obeyed well. Her only bad habit? She liked to roll in duck poo! Timber must have put in about 1000 miles or more with me- we had her 12 yrs. I never did end up running the marathon- found out I was expecting just 2 mos. before the race! Timber welcomed each of our 4 children into the family with a wagging tail. She would gladly have laid down her life to protect any one of them. Just a week before Christmas last year we had to make a very painful decision. She was nearly blind, full of arthritis and had become incontinent, so we put her down. We miss her terribly! If any dog deserved to go to Heaven it would be my Timber-girl and I believe we'll see her again... If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to Heaven and bring you home again ...