To the Rescue

Nine years earlier, I'd been called a hero. Now my dog Jaydon and I needed our own hero

- EARL WICKLINE

Five pearls. I admit it was a strange thing for the woman to say to me. I had never planned to be a hero that January morning in 2013. Afterward I told reporters all the credit went to God. I had simply been where he wanted me to be. Then a woman came up to me at work and said, “God will bless you. He will give you five pearls to call on him in times of great need.” I thanked her, but I really wasn’t sure what she meant. Someday I would be.

Two days before Thanksgiving 2022, all I was thinking about was sitting down to a turkey dinner with my wife, Dianne, and sharing some scraps with “the kids,” our two dogs, the center of our lives.

Jaydon, our three-year-old goldendoodle, was the older one. We’d had Faith, a tiny doodle puppy, only a few weeks. From the day we brought her home, Jaydon had devotedly looked after her. I’d never seen anything like the way they bonded. They were quite a pair.

I didn’t worry about letting them run free in the unfenced backyard, even after dark. They’d watch out for each other, and Jaydon knew the territory. It was his turf, make no mistake about it. A little after six o’clock, I slid open the door to the deck. Jaydon streaked down the steps, barking crazily. Faith stayed by me, unnerved by the outburst. This wasn’t like Jaydon.

“What on earth?”

I grabbed a flashlight and shone the beam into the darkness. I caught a glimpse of what looked like a big squirrel tussling with Jaydon. Then came a piercing scream that sent a chill right through me. Faith barked frantically. I saw Jaydon staggering toward the deck, bloody.