My sister Pam lived and taught in northern Spain for several years. In 1992, I spent part of the summer with her. We did a lot of exploring, including Somiedo, the second least densely populated municipality in Asturias. Somiedo has beautiful countryside and lots of trails.
Pam, her roommate Alicia, and I hiked in to a view point. We sat admiring the view. A heavy paw suddenly landed on my right shoulder….
I turned and looked into the face of a huge dog. He was powerfully strong and wore an iron collar covered all over with heavy metal spikes. They were to protect him if wolves attacked the sheep he guarded.
The dog sat by my side as if we were old acquaintances.
His master, the shepherd, was probably in his 50s. We talked for a while; he pointed out his large flock of sheep, down the hillside. He was moving the flock to the next valley.
He whistled for his companion and they headed towards the sheep. I reluctantly said goodbye to the gentle dog. We had bonded and I was seriously in love. In an impossibly short amount of time they covered the distance back down to the sheep. We watched as he, the dog, and their charges vanished into the hillside.
NOTES: Copyright © 2026 Jadi Campbell. To see Uwe’s photos and pics from our trips go to viewpics.de.
I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include F
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Love the way the gentle giant introduced himself.