Black Ghost of Nashville

This is the story of Maggie, a black mixed-breed dog, and her owner. Both were looking for each other.

The story started on a bright, sunny day in Florence, South Carolina. I had stopped at a Best Western the night before and woke about seven-thirty a.m. I felt a little dizzy, but after I dressed and went to the motel’s free breakfast, the dizziness seemed to go away. Maggie and I were returning from our home in Florida to our other residence in Maryland, and we were making it a two-day trip. I stopped and filled up with gasoline before leaving the Florence area. Everything seemed normal as we made our way north on Interstate route 95.

I drove through South Carolina and on into North Carolina without stopping until we reached a rest stop in Nashville, North Carolina. The time of the stop was around twelve p.m. I took Maggie out and walked her to let her have some doggie relief. I put her back in the car and then started up the walkway to the restrooms. Suddenly, without warning, I was struck with a horrible dizziness. I knew I was going to fall, so I turned into the grass along the sidewalk.

Down I went, not able to stop myself.

Some good Samaritans rushed over to assist me. They helped me to a picnic table next to where I had parked. My head was starting to clear, but one of the helpers called for an ambulance. When the EMTs arrived, they checked me out and found nothing wrong, but they insisted I go to the Nashville hospital to be checked out by a doctor. I said, “Look, I can’t go—I have my dog in the car. And besides, I feel much better now. Just let me sit here for a while.” However, they insisted and said they would see that my dog was taken care of until I got out of the hospital. They called the dog rescue people, who came and took Maggie. Off I went in the ambulance.

The hospital trip was the worst thing I could have agreed to, made up of dead time between three tests that proved nothing except for ways to increase the bill. Fortunately, I have very good health coverage, so they knew I did not have to see or know what charges might be made. I did find out later when the insurance company sent me a copy of what they had paid. I was there at the hospital for less than three hours, and the bill to the insurance was over five thousand dollars. “Yikes!” is all I can say.

While I was in the hospital, I called the rescue group. What transpired from there is tragic—very tragic.

When they got to their location, they apparently scared Maggie, so she pulled out of her collar and headed to the edge of the grassy area. This place, by the way, is located in a clearing surrounded by woods and has no fences around the perimeter. Well, they ran after Maggie, and that ended by chasing her into a small field, where she stopped and sat down again. Soooo, they chased after her again. Maggie took off into the woods.

In order for me to get from the hospital to the rescue location, I had to take a taxi. Apparently, the driver knew I was a stranger to the area, so he took me several miles out of the way and around town before we arrived at the rescue group’s location. He then charged me one hundred dollars for the trip, so I was left with very little cash. When I got to the rescue center, I listened to the very sad rescuers’ tale and, although disgusted, I walked to the edge of the woods and began calling for Maggie. There was no response. By now, it was early evening, so I got a ride to the rest area, got my car, and found a motel just outside Nashville for the night. I planned to try to find Maggie in the morning.

This whole day and night turned into a horrible nightmare. It is hard to describe the empty feeling I was having. I will never forget that day: May 15, 2013.

The next day was no better. I drove around to the several small groups of houses surrounding the wooded area. I had no idea where to start looking. The woods covered better than a square mile and were thick with underbrush, so I did not try to go in there. With a sick feeling about what had transpired, I decided to head north to my home in Maryland. My heart had been pierced. What a sick, sick feeling.

As I drove home, my mind was full of prayer for my Maggie. I asked the Lord to watch over her.