Another Christmas miracle (with a small “m”)

Miracles come in all sizes and as far as miracles go this one was very, very small. I don’t know about you, but I’ll take my miracles in any size.

Makai is an Anatolian Shepherd. He is our LGD (large guard dog) and was bought to guard our herd of goats and chickens and geese from predators. Anatolians are “serious” dogs. They are born knowing how to protect, when to spring into action, and when to relax. This is so innate in them that they get their feelings “seriously” hurt if you tell them what to do and when to do it.

After waiting for almost eighteen months to get him, four years ago we drove to Michigan to pick up Makai (Hawaiian for “towards the ocean”). What a cutie, just a few months old and already had lion-sized paws. The final decision to get him was after foxes had killed my Father’s Day gift of three heritage turkeys. These Broad Breasted Bronze birds were going to be my “guard turkeys” as they grow to almost 60 pounds and have a wing span of 6 feet, instead they became fox-food. Time for the LGD!

The breeder bet us that we would make him a house dog and not be tough enough to leave him outside to bond with his herd. We agreed that she might be right but the plan was to let him guard our one remaining goose and the goat kids. Like in the movie “Gremlins,” we had a final warning to never let him escape because once he found out he could, he would, always. And we were off back to the wilds of Sparks, Maryland.

Makai’s father was 185 pounds and chased off coyotes and bears. We figured Makai could handle a few foxes and raccoons. Even though cougar, coyote, and black bears have been spotted in our area, foxes are the largest predator we have seen in our thirty years there. (I think the black bear sighting by a neighbor was actually our rottweiler, Zeus, but that is another story.)

Makai rather quickly killed our last goose by constantly returning it by the neck to the goat herd where he could watch over everything. The goose kept wandering off and he would bring it back. Finally, the darn goose just “broke.” With that duty over Makai settled in to be quite a good LGD and went about his business very seriously. He was constantly on watch until we brought him in to the barn at night to eat and sleep. As soon as the barn doors closed Makai was off duty and it would take an explosion outside to make him stir.

This serious dog never learned how to play. I would throw a ball and then he watched as I retrieved it. I would throw him a snack and he would watch as it bounced off his nose. Stick? Same thing. He saw no reason for such foolishness. Duty was Mak and play was for the silly Labrador Retriever that our daughter had. Then his friend Zeus died.

Over the previous four years Mak grew to the point that our 130 pound rottweiler literally could walk underneath him. They got to be great buddies until Mak lost his friend this past summer. He watched closely as we dug a grave for Zeus and seemed very interested in our lugging his body around and putting it in the ground. As was his nature Makai watched everything intently that went on around him, as if he were trying to understand all of our actions. As soon as I put the first shovel of dirt on Zeus’s body Makai freaked. This very serious dog leaped up and leaned over the side of the grave as if he knew something was wrong. The next day he escaped.

Every week he escaped two or three times. I couldn’t plug the holes because I couldn’t find how he got out. Everything was the same as it was for the previous four years when he never got loose and now I could not keep Makai home. So this very serious dog moved into our home. Over the next six months he learned to love table scraps and chicken grease poured over his kibble. He still can’t catch anything thrown to him but he has become a “rug potato.” Every morning I take him for a half-mile walk then let him loose in the field while I tend to the goats. Makai checks his herd, checks the perimeter fencing and by the time I finish my work he is ready to go back into the house and sleep until it is time to go upstairs for bed. As I said before, when Makai is off-duty he is seriously off-duty.

Today a small miracle occurred. Now if you are looking for the Virgin Mary in a bag of kibble or a long lost uncle leaving a fortune in his will kind of miracle, then forget it. This is a miracle with a small “m”. Today Makai played!

When I put him in the field this morning he did his normal routine then he stopped near the buck pen and looked straight up to the tops of the trees (FYI: we live in a forest). This was peculiar, looking straight up and, like a fool, barking at nothing. So being sort of a fool myself, I joined him in the field, stood next to him, and looked up at nothing, also. At least I wasn’t barking. We both walked around the trees to get a better angle to see nothing until I convinced Makai to come with me into the barnyard and from there to the house where he could nap until it was time to sleep. This is when the miracle happened.

As we entered the barnyard from the field, Makai found a tennis ball that my daughter’s Lab had left and he brought it to me. Could it be? Was he ready? Not wanting to be the retriever myself, I walked to the bottom of the sloping barnyard and threw the ball uphill. This way gravity would bring it to me. But Makai ran to the ball and brought it back! He laid down at my feet, gave me the ball and retrieved it two more times. By the fourth throw he had had enough. He got the ball and laid down at the top of the hill by the barn. It was time to go in and nap until bedtime. But I knew that I had witnessed a small miracle, Makai had allowed me to play, at least a little bit, with him. This may not sound like much to most of you out there, but if you have an Anatolian then I am here to tell you they do have an un-serious side. It just takes a miracle to see it.