From her first trip, she enjoyed our warm-weather jaunts to the beach as much as did we humans. Two aspects of those trips, though, seemed to stir particular fascination for the diminutive Shih Tzu.
The drainage basin near the condo complex where we stayed served as her focal point for interesting activities and creatures. She seemed enthralled by the vacationer launching his kite, and by the elderly dog whose human let her bask in the waters.
And when she’d come upon a seagull, or a flock thereof, she’d barrel toward them in
near ecstasy and at full speed, pulling me along behind. The birds, without fail, would spot the furry pipsqueak’s approach, and flitter off to somewhere further down the beach.
But this time was different. She tugged me, slowly and purposefully, toward a seagull at the edge of the drainage basin. And the seagull stood in place, watching with rapt attention as the dog drew near. Then, to my amazement, they came together– nose-to-nose, beak-to-muzzle, in an apparent moment of bonding.
I moved to resume our beach walk, and she accepted my leash pulls only with reluctance. As we left, she turned to gaze at her new friend, and he peered back at her. He moved several steps to the side and toward the top, as if to follow us, but his legs seemed unable to climb the short distance out of the basin.
She looked for the seagull on our way back, but he wasn’t to be seen. I spotted him, though, through binoculars from our balcony, near the ocean-touching edge of the drainage basin. His mobility struggles distinguished him, and starkly so, from the other birds.
A change of strategy, he apparently decided, was in order. The tide had begun moving inward. If he couldn’t walk out of the basin, then he’d fly out.
His cringe-inducing attempt brought calamitous results. With wings flapping and fluttering, he rose but a short distance, and then crashed, upside-down, back onto the hot sand. A few twitches followed, and he was dead within minutes. A closer look at the photo revealed a mark across his head, perhaps from an earlier collision with a wire.
I’ve seen dogs be tended near their end by an empathetic pack mate. And I’ve known of humans whose last moments were eased by a dog’s presence. But in watching a seagull’s final comfort be provided by a seagull-chasing dog, I knew I’d witnessed something powerful and unforgettable.