Stolen Friendship by Alice Maxwell

A sad morning in November our dog a German Shepherd died. It was old and the dog was nearly a family member. Whole of our family was very sad and we mourned for days and months. Even today I miss my dog. It was always glad when I came from school. Me and my brother allowed the dog to lie in our beds and when we stood by the door we could see through the window in the door that our dog came running towards us in the entrance door always coming from me or my brothers room.
One early evening in the twilight my father walks in the forest nearby with our dog. A little strange thing happened. Another stray dog without his “master” came running towards them. Our dog was not at all especially social to other dogs but fortunately our dog was very keen to obey. My father ordered our dog to sit and while it was sitting with a great deal of patience my father cached the other dog and put our dog leash around its neck. Perhaps many would have let the stray dog run but it was late spring and deer have had lambs. And earlier the same week a deer has been skinned.
My father brought our dog and the stray dog back to our house. Our dog was put in the house and my father went around in the garden and fed the dog and gave it water while my mother phoned the owner. A little arrogant man came in a Mercedes Benz and collected the dog. It was a big Labrador a sort of hunting dog. One week later the dog came round the corner of our house an early evening when we were grilling. The house the man lived in was approximately a kilometer from our house. It was glad to see us especially my father and this episode happened several times. The last time my father brought back the dog to the man I was in the car too. When we came to the house a big fence surrounded the house and we guessed that the dog was living a life of itself but we didn’t tell the man anything. Obviously the stray dog was searching for some real company and it had been easy to get acquainted to the dog and became friends. But it was the man’s dog.
A part of the storyline told by Alice Maxwell in her story Stolen Friendship is a little similar to the above history. Stolen Friendship is about an old man Mark Tyler who lives a kind of ascetic and secluded life. He is taken into the home of his nephew and his wife Lucy. He is grateful for the shelter of their home and he shows his gratitude to their hospitality by keeping the garden. Mark Tyler is 80 years old and still clear in his mind with a lot of tan is his face because of his outdoor living. In the story he is very eager to satisfy his landlords the nephew and his wife. And when they pay a little attention to him once in a while he was very happy. Perhaps you could describe him as submissive and perhaps their relationship could be characterized as a servant and master relationship. He pleases his masters and in return he lives for free. They are in my opinion not really upper class and perhaps it’s very convenient for them to have Mark Tyler as a practical gardener an in return he lives for free with his own entrance so he could not really interfere in their lives.
Mark Tyler is a lonely man and he obviously misses something in life. The neighbours the Wilsons have a young setter with amber eyes. A very nice dog but the dog has the same characteristics as the above mentioned stray dog. It was easy to grew a friendship to the dog because it was missing something in its life too. It misses real company, a master to obey, a master to lean on and a master who understands a dogs needs. Mark Tyler develops a close friendship between the dog and him. Eventually the relationship between them develops from friendship to love. The dog fulfills something missing in Mark Tyler’s life. And it’s obvious to the reader, that he fulfills the dog’s needs. No doubt he’s the only right master of the dog. And similar to the story of the stray dog in the beginning this setter has not the right master.
It was really a stroke for Mark Tyler when the Wilsons moved to the country. His best friend was gone. As with the stray dog the young setter returned one evening and scratched on Mark Tyler’s door. A sort of happy ending of the story is near but the story is about more than happy ending. Mark Tyler hides his feelings for the dog. He forces himself not to show any feelings towards the setter and he phones the Wilson. He took courage and told Mr. Wilson how to fulfill the dog’s needs and when Mr. Wilson shows his understanding of how he had missed to treat the dog in a proper manner Mark Tyler realizes that he never gone see the dog again. The story has a traditional story setting about a dog and a man and the friendship between them. At first you might think that a happy ending is beginning to take place but immediately the story line turns in another direction. It becomes a matter of moral and ethics and how to choose between right and wrong. Mark Tyler as the title describes stole the friendship. Perhaps it was right at the time. Mark Tyler and the dog were both missing something in their life because they suffered from loneliness.
At the time they were friends and the dog lived nearby it was morally ok but when the situation altered Mark Tyler realizes that longing for each other and at the same time living separate would destroy the dog and perhaps himself. The theme about moral and choosing the right decision is central to the story.
The dog could also be a symbol of a lover who already is engaged to another side and the theme of the story could very well be lost or forbidden love.
The short story reminds of an allegory. It is like the apparent meaning of the characters and events is used to symbolize a deeper moral or spiritual meaning.