by Donna Swagerty Shreve
The year was 1948 in the small quiet town of Linden, California. Melva had put her young daughter, Donna, in the small fenced back yard while she finished up some kitche Donna swagerty Shreven chores uninterrupted. The kitchen overlooked the street that ran along side of their property. Suddenly Melva saw her daughter not only out of the fenced back yard but she was wandering into the street and a car was coming. Melva felt a moment of sudden helpless panic. Before she had to make one of several bad choices, Penny, their collie, came bounding through the open gate after Donna. Penny very skillfully herded Donna back to the sidewalk and toward the backyard.
Melva was astonished at what she had just witnessed and was ever so grateful. Donna was quickly brought back into the house and Floyd was asked to secure the gate once he got home from work. The small family of three loved Penny, their beautiful rough collie, but now she was more than a pet but also a hero.
After much discussion about what was best for Penny, the young couple heard of sheep farmer in the neighboring country side that was interested in their dog. They decided keeping Penny in their small backyard was not in the best interest of this special dog. After a lot of discussion with their young daughter, they delivered the prize collie to a country sheep ranch. Usually this would sound like the cliche that the dog was taken to the farm but this time it was true. Donna remembers driving with her parents out into the country and being able to visit her dear friend.
In 1907 Lucy Aldrich was 3 1/2 and the youngest of five children living in Iowa. Her father had a large farm with many animals. Several farm animals were penned or housed near the house. Lucy had been warned to stay away from the sow especially now that the mother had several little piggies. The sow and her babies were penned near the barn and Lucy was intrigued. Against her mother’s warning, Lucy was just too curious to obey avoiding this pen. Lucy got her herself into the pen and headed toward the babies. Fortunately for Lucy the family dog was near by. The family dog was a Bernese Mountain dog and he quickly entered the pig pen and grabbed Lucy by her clothing and carried her out of harm’s way.
Soon after this incident, the family made the decision to move from Humboldt, Iowa to Hughson, California. Well meaning neighbors convinced the family that the dog could not accompany them due to the contrast in weather between the two states. Iowa had cold snowy winters and the dog had a coat that could endure the cold. California had hot summers and it was not a good climate for a big wooly dog. It might have been the journey involved by railroad that finally tipped the decision toward leaving the dog behind. The family had reserved one rail car just for the farm animals that had to be fed each day. Plus the car had to be cleaned out daily for healthy animals.
Lucy was interviewed many times and she repeated this story of her beloved dog on several occasions. After arriving in California and living there for at least a year, the family realized the dog would have done fine in California climate in the central valley. I feel so lucky I was able to get a copy of the two younger sisters with their dear dog. the picture was taken in Iowa just before they left on their big adventure.
609 words
7/8/2026
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