With gratitude: True tale this week

On Monday, I think that Mom and I could have died or been maimed but our lives were saved from a yesteryear friend whom I will thank today no matter where he may roam. 

Mom and I went out to walk her dog, Daisy, a rescue from the Humane Society and a purebred Parsons Terrier. She looks like a movie star because she prances around without any formal training and will fall in love with everyone she meets (except other small dogs due to jealousy, we suppose). 

Anyway, on this night at 8:20 pm, the moon is almost full, we wear light jackets and I hold a bright flashlight while leading Daisy on her leash. We walk to the street, through a gate, and then down a wide driveway toward a familiar wooded area where we have been on similar walks for 30 years. We feel safe here because the neighbors' house is nestled among the trees and we see its shadow as we continue down the path. 

We are chatting and Daisy startles to frozen alert. Mom keeps talking but I hear it, too. If you want to know the sound, make a forcible exhale through your mouth and with a short gut huff. 

"Do you hear it?"

"What?" 

We walk again. HUFF. About 30 yards away. Mom  hears it now. We cannot see anything but he is there watching us.

"Is it a cougar?" she says.

"No, there are no other women my age, nearby." I did not really say this but always laugh with respect because a neighbor a few streets away says she thought she heard a mountain lion a few months ago when walking their dog but a predatory cat would stalk us and not bellow.

"That's a buck," I say. "We need to go. NOW."

We turn and amble home without incident. This moment will always thrill me for being taught to listen for this danger from my only deer hunt (with no casualties) and to know when to leave.