What was it Patton once said … “Fatigue makes cowards of us all?” Buddy could relate. After hours of battle, he had reached the point where victory no longer seemed to matter – nor did survival, really.
His own lack of sleep and the animal’s seemingly constant motion had finally worn him down. In this battle of man versus beast, the beast was winning – and had almost won. And that was fine because one way or another, this all had to end.
Before entering the arena, he had been warned. He was too old, too weak, too unprepared to take on something that was simply too, too much to handle. But in his mind, he knew he still had one more fight in him. Well, he thought he did, anyway.
After all, he had done this before – many times, in fact. And there had been myriad occasions when he was so exhausted he could barely hold his head up. Yet somehow, he endured. Day after day, night after night, he tried to break what appeared to be an unbreakable foe.
Had he thought of giving up?
Sure. Honorable or otherwise, sometimes defeat is inevitable.
But he never tapped out, and because he didn’t, his enemies of the past ultimately became his friends for life. And that’s why these battles were irresistible.
So, here he was again, sprawled on the ground and devoid of energy. Coming towards him was the creature – razor-sharp teeth glistening … its eyes bright with mischief. If the man just gave up, perhaps it would all be over.
Yet, he didn’t.
Instead, Buddy reached out with the rope, waved it wildly, and coerced the predator into clamping down on it.
The critter shook it vigorously, growled, and then collapsed.
Why?
The man had no clue.
It seemed to have boundless energy, only to stop briefly and abruptly start back again. Thus, Buddy knew the reprieve would be ever so brief.
The opportunity to take flight was there; he could run, he could hide – he could even race outside, get into his car, and drive away.
Instead, he crawled over to the puppy, kissed it on the head, and managed a smile.
Some things are always worth fighting for, no matter how tiring.