Sheba

Shortly before the birth of our daughter Vanessa Mac added a porch onto the back of the house we were renting above the Pizzeria.  From there I could see what was happening on the restaurant patio as well as appreciate the harbor view.  The deck was sturdy, with railings and a latched gate, and a nice addition to the house.  It resembled a large play-pen and that was the whole idea!

The enclosed porch made me think perhaps it was time we had a dog, and I decided to surprise Mac on his birthday with a puppy.  The owners of the hotel at Petit St. Vincent had some pure-bred Golden Lab pups, and I asked them to save one for me.  A friend offered to sail the puppy to Bequia in time for Mac’s birthday and that’s how our first pet arrived.

When that sweet little dog was presented to Mac it was love at first sight, for the pup as well as for Mac.  From the moment they met they were pretty much inseparable, they went everywhere together.  Mac named the puppy Sheba and she was his faithful companion for many years.

Mac was an avid wind-surfer and so was Sheba!  Whenever she saw Mac getting his board ready in front of the Pizzeria she would prance up and down with excitement on the beach, and when he gave the word she would leap onto the bow.  The two of them would take off into the bay, with Sheba standing proudly on all fours like a ship’s figurehead.

Sheba was also a master escape artist.  How she was able to get off the back porch was a mystery, she must have had springs in her paws. We would be dining on a friend’s yacht and suddenly Sheba would be there, swimming in circles around the boat.  If we went out to a restaurant Sheba would appear before the main course was served. It was impossible to leave Sheba at home, she followed Mac everywhere.

There were no veterinarians in the country in those early days, and owners were helpless when their pets got sick.  Our friend Melinda  arranged for a veterinarian from Barbados to come to Bequia by organizing a group of people to chip in for his LIAT flight to St. Vincent.  Melinda housed him, I fed him and he was terrific. This is the first time our pets were checked for heart-worm, which is the number one dog killer on Bequia.  Sure enough, Sheba had heart-worm and had to be treated.

Gus (the veterinarian) explained that Sheba had a 50-50 chance of survival, that basically he would be injecting arsenic into her system to kill the worms. She was young enough that she stood a good chance of surviving, but we should be prepared for the worst.  Mac sat with his dog for a week, stroking her as she battled with the poison.  Sheba was very ill and we were in danger of losing her.

Sheba survived the heart-worm treatment and spent many more years being a superb pet to the family. She accompanied me to work at 3:45 every morning, watched over the children as they played on the beach, and of course wind-surfed with Mac whenever the opportunity arose!