When an old woman takes in a huge stray dog, neighbors are resentful of her action and even start to maltreat her. One year later, all their minds are changed after they hear a shocking cry for help and something unimaginable happens as the dog followed Martha into the house after 2 weeks of her feeding and playing with it. She heard a snort from behind her and turned; it was from one of her neighbors. He was standing between two others, and they were all staring at her while tutting and shaking their heads in disapproval.
“What are you doing?” one of them asked. When she didn’t answer, the others chipped in, asking the questions and answering themselves. Martha tuned them out, but she knew what the essence of their unsolicited lecture was: they thought she was being silly for taking in such a huge dog. She had heard a lot of it throughout the two weeks she had spent with this stray outside her house.
Anyone who passed would stare in shock and shake their head in disapproval as they walked away. Sometimes they even went as far as dropping sn comments that were obviously meant to be heard. They believed that a dog this big was a huge commitment for a woman as frail and old as her, and that its past as a stray inevitably meant it had behavioral issues that would reflect poorly on the community or even put them all in danger. But Martha knew best; she knew that the huge dog didn’t have an evil bone in its body.
The day she decided to take it in, she hadn’t even planned on it. She was outside on her porch, just watching people go by and listening to the sound of the wind in the trees. She enjoyed doing that in the evenings, as she was always too tired to walk like she would have in her youth. She watched the dog dig its head into a trash can, trying to scrape up what was most likely its first meal of the day.
She suddenly remembered when she had fallen on the road and the dog had appeared out of nowhere to stand over her. She had been scared at first, but eventually realized that it was only trying to help her. The dog had nudged her up with its huge snout and had even licked her scraped knee until pain had become laughter. That first encounter had created a soft spot in her heart for the dog, and she sometimes put leftovers where it could find them. The recollection of this memory and the sight of the huge Great Dane scavenging for food caused the deep stir of pity in her heart.
She watched for a while, and in a few minutes, she made her decision. She stood up from her porch and walked slowly towards the dog, so as not to scare it. The dog backed away, as it was wary of strangers. More importantly, the people of the neighborhood had not been very kind to it. In fact, it would have run away if it had been any other member of that neighborhood. Martha started making little sounds to beckon it towards her. She crouched to the dog’s level and started talking to it in an attempt to get it to follow her, but it still didn’t trust her. So she went inside and brought out some food for it.
She knew it was going to be a bit of a long battle. She did this every day for a week, and the next week, the dog brought a stick to her. She knew what it meant, so they started playing catch. A few days later, the dog started walking to her porch just to sit with her in silence. That way, it took about 2 weeks for it to fully warm up to her. That was the day the neighbors decided to display their distaste up front, but she didn’t care. They usually ignored her anyway, so she took the dog and closed her door. She led it towards her backyard and to the empty den waiting for it.
She was about to leave when she turned back, rubbed the dog’s head, and said, “Faa, I’ll call you Faa.” The dog barked delightedly, as though in approval. Martha’s heart skipped a beat at the sound. A few months before that, she had faced a major loss. For an old woman who lived far away from her children and grandchildren, losing her dog was a painful ordeal. Lucy had been sick for a while, and the doctors had told Martha that she had limited time with the dog.
Still, it didn’t make things hurt less as she watched her best friend lose all her flesh and turn stick thin day after day. Her once vibrant Lucy spent most of her day lying down, and she could only let out the weakest whines in place of her once loud, boisterous bark. All of this was painful for Martha. So when Lucy eventually passed away, she was in shambles and began spending more time outside. Her daughter had promised to come visit with the grandchildren for a long while the following summer, but in the meantime, Martha was alone.
So as she watched the stray dog every day, it eventually dawned on her what she needed to do, and it only made sense to give that dog a name that meant good luck, because that’s what she believed Faa was to her. The next few weeks would prove difficult for both Martha and Faa. The neighbors did not like what had happened and weren’t afraid to air their opinions. Whenever Martha and Faa sat outside the house, there were loud hisses and barely concealed whispers about how Martha could do something so heinous.
Sometimes trash even mysteriously ended up outside their porch. Martha was unfazed. As time moved on, some part of the community began to see the point of the old grandmother’s actions. After all, Faa was no longer scouring in garbage bins; she looked well-fed and seemed to be enjoying living with Martha. However, some neighbors remained adamant about resisting the new arrangement. One such neighbor was Paul, and the unfortunate thing was that his house was right beside Martha’s. This allowed him to make passive-aggressive comments and sometimes hurl plain insults over the fence.
He took issue with the dog, her massive size, and the fact that she’d been astray. On one occasion when Martha had taken Faa for a walk to the neighborhood’s park, Paul was there with his daughter. His daughter came over to play with Faa and the kids. They were having the time of their lives when Paul suddenly appeared to drag his daughter away, yelling at her for endangering his little girl. Still, Martha didn’t say anything. She knew it wasn’t worth it. She, however, kept her distance from the man and did nothing to encourage his aggressive acts. A year passed, and everyone warmed up to Faa. She was a lovely dog, loudly adored by the kids and silently admired by the adults. Martha was happy to have her around, and yet she was missing some human company. Except for Paul, the neighbors were friendly enough, but she longed for a deeper connection.
Fortunately, summer was coming, and one day her daughter Bella called to say that she would stay true to her promise to bring the children over for a couple of weeks. Martha was excited and spent a whole week preparing for their arrival. She prepared the guest bedroom and went to the grocery store to stock up the pantry. She asked her friendly neighbors what the kids were into these days and got loads of all the chocolate and chips that turned up in those conversations.
She also made different dishes from lasagna to the best chicken broth. So when the kids came, their excitement knew no bounds. However, it wasn’t completely over what she had expected. More than food and snacks, the kids loved Faa and wouldn’t leave her for a moment. At first, Martha’s daughter was wary about the dog, but after doing some research on Great Danes and seeing how much her kids loved Faa, she warmed up to it and let go of her fears.
A few days after she arrived, she got an urgent call from home and heard that her best friend had given birth. She was the godmother and was expected to show up at the hospital right away. When she asked her mother if she could babysit the kids for a while, both parties were overjoyed at the thought of spending some more time together. So she packed her bags and went to the city by herself. Even though she knew she would miss her kids, she was glad to see that they were happy and safe where they were, with their new best friend, all the food they could eat, and their grandmother’s doting.
Lilo and Lila, as they like to be called, were twins, 10 years old, and at the peak of their childhood. They had similar personalities, growing up in the city also contributed to their boisterous characters. With their parents being divorced, they were used to switching between places. They also made friends quickly as a result. However, living in the city didn’t allow them many opportunities for intimate relationships with big pets such as Faa, as few people around them had the time or the room to accommodate a dog. So they simply loved the state of things. However, the kids soon started to notice something: Paul’s snide comments.
He would pass by them in front of the house while they were playing with Faa and say something under his breath. One day, Lilo heard him call them dumb kids. He went to Martha and asked her why Paul didn’t seem to like them. Martha told the twins that some people were just bitter, and there was nothing anyone could do about that. Paul’s daughter was a different case, however. She loved all dogs, and Faa was her favorite in the whole world. Not only did she want to play with her, but she also saw Lilo and Lila having fun outside and wanted to join them so badly. Luckily for her, the situation started to favor her.
Her father started to come home a little later, something about a new contract, but it wasn’t her business. She was just glad to have some time alone. She had a nanny, but she wasn’t aware that she wasn’t supposed to play with Faa or the kids next door. Lilo and Lila, being good at making friends, didn’t hesitate to invite the girl the first day they noticed her hanging about. So every evening from then on, she would go over to Martha’s house to play with her grandkids and Faa. Being a friendly dog, especially with the kids, Faa immediately got used to the girl. And seeing that Lilo and Lila didn’t mind her either, the four became fast friends. Everyone seemed to know that they were inseparable, everyone except Paul.
This went on for almost a week until one day, Paul arrived earlier than he was supposed to. He was shocked to find his daughter playing catch with Faa and Martha’s grandchildren. He fumed and turned red like a ripe tomato as he commanded his daughter to go inside the house and wagged his finger at Lilo and Lila as though it was their doing. Since then, his daughter never approached the dog or the kids, but she watched forlornly over the fence each evening. Lilo and Lila often waved at her and shook their heads to express their pity for her. This went on until the members of the community decided to have a barbecue.
Both Paul and Martha’s families were invited, as were many others. Everyone awaited what they knew might be a toxic evening, but there was nothing they could do about it. Not inviting either would cause a certain war. Either way, only one person seemed to have a problem. Almost every other person in the neighborhood had accepted things as they were, especially since all the kids loved Faa. They just hoped Paul would keep himself in check for the evening. The event was to happen on the beach, and the neighborhood buzzed with increasing excitement as the day inched nearer.
The men were at the grill showing off their expertise and cooking meat. The women were in charge of the drinks and finger foods. The kids had been warned against going into the water, and all the adults were keeping an eye on them. Lilo, Leila, and some other kids were having fun with Faa, while other kids were scattered around, some making angels in the sand and others splashing water at one another. Many were running around, and others were building sandcastles. Paul’s daughter was having a hard time, however, after being deprived of what truly was fun for her. After a while, she slowly inched towards the water, already at a deserted part of the beach hardly anyone noticed.
She sat at the edge of the water and kicked her feet. She kept this up for minutes when her eyes caught a glowing object in the water. As she bent closer to inspect it, she tumbled over and landed in the ocean with a splash and soft scream as water rushed into her mouth, ears, and nose. At the crowded edge of the beach, people were shocked to find Faa tearing towards the water at a breakneck speed. No one had any idea what was going on and wondered why she suddenly went into the water as though searching for something. Then they heard a small cry for help, barely audible among the crashing waves.
It wasn’t until Faa dragged out Paul’s daughter from the water that shocked gasps rippled through the crowds. Paul himself was visibly shaking and holding his daughter to his chest. Thankfully, the little girl was fine. Paul couldn’t stop staring at Faa as gratitude swelled in his heart. He began to weep as the reality dawned on him. He could easily have lost his daughter without the help of the dog. The realization made him understand what a bitter and toxic person he had been. He learned quickly to never turn a hard heart towards anyone, person or animal, regardless of their background. The dog had saved him a lot of heartbreak and sorrow. He knelt in front of Faa, apologized, and thanked her profusely. Even if she couldn’t understand him, being the good dog she was, she let him pet her and even licked away his tears.
Then he approached Martha and said, “I’m sorry. I was such an awful person, even if you never did anything bad to me. I’m sorry, and I’m grateful to you for taking care of this dog because it just saved my life. Thank you so much.” After that evening, Paul freely let his daughter go over to the house next door and never looked down on any living thing again. He even started to warm up to Faa and would bring back treats for her from work. Thankfully, it was a happy ending for all involved.
What a satisfying ending! Have you ever been saved by an animal or seen an animal save someone? How did it happen? Go on and tell us about it in the comments section. Thank you for watching, and see
you next time!
