When you’re a five year old you really don’t know what is occurring away from your focus. There I was, a little boy from the streets of Brooklyn, NY, USA now transported to some farm in the country. That meant upstate NY with all kinds of animals flowing by me like in some cartoon show. My father wanted to get us, his wife and two young sons, out of the scorched heat of the city for a month. So, a relative of his mother, my grandmother, Frederick, had this place that he and his wife of 50 years lived. He had cows, goats, chickens, pigs and two dogs with a barn that looked actually more inviting than his home. Well, I for one just loved it! After breakfast each morning I could wander out and enjoy all the farm animals, especially milking the two cows. Yet, the piece de resistance was the female wolfdog, who followed me wherever I went. She would let me lay on her back as she carried me for a bit each day. The irony of this tale is that even Frederick could not get within two feet from her before that growl flew out of her. They all laughed at how the wolfdog took to me, and she was definitely half wolf. God, I loved her!

What is the purpose of this tale? Well, it was when, towards the end of our month there, a midsummer upstate thunderstorm hit us… just like that. It was late afternoon when the sky darkened and the rumbles began to overwhelm one’s hearing. I had been doing what little boys do, especially in the country, deciding to take a hike deep into the woods by the farm. Within minutes I was lost and frightened, calling for my mommy, though no one could hear me…Except my new girlfriend. While my mother, Frederick and my older brother were searching all over for me, the wolfdog found me far away from their shouts. All I can remember is how she grabbed onto the side of my little jumpsuit and just pulled me out of the woods. She escorted me right up to the farmhouse and casually wondered off.

The day we were leaving for Brooklyn I sought her out. She ran to me and almost knocked me down as she reached to lick my little boy’s face. As our car drove off she stood by the driveway wondering why I was leaving. I looked out of the rear window and cried. Lord, I never forgot that wolfdog, knowing she never forgot me.

PA Farruggio
July, 2025