The year is not even a third of the way through and already, I’ve cast my vote for Newsmaker of 1994.
Heck, I think this little guy should even be Newsmaker of the Decade. Maybe even the Century.
I’m referring to Brownie, the spunky little dog in Artesia, New Mexico who was run over by his owner, left for dead and quickly buried in the backyard, only to dig his way back up to the surface hours later. When the family returned home from a trip away the following afternoon, he was sitting on the porch, covered in mud and waiting for his next assignment.
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A few days later, after a trip to see a vet, Brownie was home again, minus one eye and limping from a broken shoulder, but happy to be back on the scene. He is a true American hero.
And in the two days I’ve had to think about this since I read the story, I’ve tried to put into words why I think this mutt with a cat’s attitude about his life deserves our respect. To me, he has reminded us of some pretty valuable lessons.
- It’s not over till it’s over. The average Tom, Dick or Happy, if he woke up in a hole in the ground, covered over with dirt, might decide, “Aw, what the heck. I’m here now. May as well save myself the trouble of coming back later.” But not Brownie. He ain’t leavin’ till he’s done whatever he has left to do.
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Don’t worry if people go around heapin’ dirt on you. “Hey! What’s a little shallow grave among friends?” thought Brownie. He didn’t believe any of those stories about his premature death.
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People treat you the way you teach them to treat you. That’s the last time Mary Bratcher and her family will bury Brownie when he’s still alive. Next time he looks dead, they’ll wait till the vultures have had a few feeds on his carcass before they pack him off.
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The first duty of a life is to live. When Brownie came out of his coma, covered up in the ground in his owner’s backyard, he probably didn’t lie around too long debating the meaning of his existence. He just started clawing his way to the surface.
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It is important to learn to forgive and forget. Personally, I’d be offended if somebody ran over me, buried me in their backyard and took off without waiting around to see if I was, indeed, expired. But then, I don’t have the character displayed by a dog of Brownie’s stature. Apparently, he’s put the incident totally behind him and is romping around his owner’s house with nary a resentful, thought. It does make me wonder, however, what you’d have to do to make this guy mad.
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You’ll go a long way before you find a better friend than your mother. Brownie’s human family actually isn’t sure whether the dog dug his way out of his predicament on his own or whether his mother, Pretty Girl, came along and set to work uncovering her son. Seems to me, the latter scenario makes the most sense, which is why I hope Brownie remembers to do something pretty special for his Mom on Mother’s Day.
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When it seems like the weight of the world is on you, maybe it is. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t get above your problems, like Brownie did.
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If a rundown, left-for-dead, once-buried mutt with only one eye and a broken shoulder thinks there’s still enough good about this mixed-up world that he’d try that hard to remain a part of it, then what the heck are the rest of us moanin’ about?
©1994 Jim Hagarty
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