Do you ever wonder if the universe is watching?
A twist of fate delivered to me a little stray dog and memories that will be some of my favourites of 2026.
Let me start at the beginning. It was 4.30am and raining. I was worried my dogs were going to go to the loo inside my house, so I let them through the front gate and onto the footpath, which leads to their favourite pee tree.
Sitting in front of my gate, there was a little wet creature shivering on the grass.
The skinny and scared little white dog looked terrified and seemed to be hard of hearing. As the sun came up, I scooped her up. She sighed a big sigh of relief.
I took her inside and wrapped her in a towel. I gave her a big bowl of chicken and waited for my youngest son to rise to show him our guest. We named our visitor Bessie.
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She fell asleep, exhausted. I tucked her into a dog bed in the garage, knowing I had to wait until any local vets opened so I could try to find her home.
I started knocking on nearby doors. Unfortunately, to no avail. When the vet finally opened, I took in my precious bundle. She was not microchipped.
The mystery deepened. I started to fret she had been abandoned.
At this stage, the vet told me legally I had to leave the dog because I had admitted she was not mine. I scampered out of the door, thinking, ‘I’m not parting with my new bestie’.
I got lucky at the second vet. Someone had come in an hour earlier to say they were desperate to find their missing, almost-blind elderly dog.
It had to be a match. We rang and held our breath as the voice on the other end confirmed her sprinkled pink collar. We had found the owner.
I hugged Bessie and quietly whispered into her ear that I was happy she had found her home again, but that I was glad she chose my gate to rest in front of.
Ten minutes later, a young girl came in who screamed, “Love Love! My darling!”
Bessie’s name is actually Love Love. The young woman was dog-sitting her grandparents’ dog. They live in Mapleton, not Minyama, where I found her.
The wild weather had swung the gate open and Love Love had gone on an adventure.
Sometimes all you need is a little Love.
Sami Muirhead is a radio announcer, blogger and commentator, wife and mum of three. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sunshine Coast News.
