Hawaii

Helping a woman get a horse and a dog find a home

In December of 2024 I took a trip to Hawaii. A friend of mine has a property out there on the the Big Island. 33 acres of grasslands on South Point Road over looking the pacific ocean. It is a magical place. My 8 day trip turned into a month.

A few months prior, I had ended a long term relationship with a woman I had been engaged to. I left a truly wonderful woman, beautiful, and smart but I knew in my heart I couldn’t stay and that there was something else for me to do. In the weeks and months after this I had a lot on my mind to say the least. When a friend mentioned that he had a rental property in Hawaii that was becoming vacant soon my ears perked. I asked if he would need someone to turn over the property in preparation for new tenants to move in. He confirmed that he would. I volunteered for this, obviously, and he agreed.

With a bit of a mess in my mind I booked a flight out to Hawaii in mid December with a return flight for 8 days later. My plan was to fly out, handle some maintenance at my friends property, explore the big island a bit and fly back. Aside from turning the place over for the new tenants he also needed a number of things including a motorcycle packaged onto a pallet and shipped to the mainland.

Despite being heavy in heart in the wake of my break up I was excited to be setting off to Hawaii. I had never been before and had heard only good things from my friend who had spent 4 years there building his house.

I flew into Kona and was received by a friend of a friend at the airport. He kindly drove me the hour and a half or so from Kona to my buddy’s property on South Point. Along the way he stopped at a grocery store in Kona and informed me I better stock up on food here as it will be much more expensive when I get to the towns around where I would be staying. I took his advice and grabbed some essentials.

Along the way I took in the breathtaking scenery. I was blown away by how different the island looked from anywhere I had ever been. The main road for the big island runs in a circle around the whole island. Periodically the two lane highway runs along the side of these hills providing incredible overlooks of the coast line. My escort informed me of some local things to do and where I could find other people to do them with and we made friendly conversation.

We arrived at the property late in the evening. We came down South Point road and the vegetation shifted. At first everything seemed tropical. Then it was all grassland. Grass as tall as my waist. He slowed as we pulled up to a barely visible gate opening. Grass lined the drive nearly as tall as the jeep we rode in. We pulled in the dark drive and went aways until we came to a very sweet little home. We said our goodbyes and I thanked him for the ride.

As he drove away I looked up at the sky. There is so little light pollution in the sparsely populated area. I took my bags inside and got situated then went back outside to look around. The temperature was so comfortable. I can’t remember what it was but in the whole time I was there I never once considered what the temperature was. It just always feels exactly as it should outside. I took in the vast sea of grass that rippled like waves in the wind. I could make out the moon lit ocean a few miles down the road from the property. Looking up I felt I was standing in space. The stars are so bright and appear so close in Hawaii.

I went back in for a blanket and a pillow before coming back out where I found a place to tamp down some of the chest high grasses and made a bed for myself and I lay looking up at the sky until reluctantly breaking my gaze to fall asleep. The next morning I woke early. My sleep schedule was still working on east coast hours. I remember sitting up and seeing the ocean and the first glimmers of the rising sun through the long grass.

I spent the next few days exploring the surroundings, taking photos of the animals on the property and surrounding area. I also started handling some of the chores I had agreed to. My buddy had a truck on the property that I used it to get around. I went down to South Point, the actual point, and hiked to Green Sands beach on my first day. Coming from the north east it felt so odd to swim at a beach in complete solitude. The ocean felt all the more powerful in those moments.

Coming from the Philadelphia the population density was also a shock. There were so few people in the near by town of Naʻālehu. I took time to travel into town regularly for coffee and to work on my laptop a bit. Everyone was operating at such a different pace than I was used to. I loved it. In town I made friends with a guy who had moved to the island a few years ago with his wife. He insisted on taking me out with him to go spear fishing.

The first few nights took a lot of getting used to. The water seems stronger than I had experienced in other areas of the world. I had never used fins or a snorkel and adding a spear and a flash light to the endeavor felt like playing drums for the first time. Getting all of my limbs to cooperate took getting used to. I ended up getting some fish by the grace of God and enjoyed my time in the water. It is very gratifying to swim out into the ocean at night and bring back fish. This quickly became one of my favorite ways to pass the time. Max took me out a number of times during my stay. We even encountered a 6’ white tips shark one night while on a reef just past the break, unless you are Max’s wife, in that case we saw no sharks. Max also connected me to my reason to stay longer than 8 days, a dog I named Bubba and a woman named Svenja.

Coming to the end of my trip I was feeling strongly that I should stay longer. I’m sure many feel this way in Hawaii. I couldn’t see why though. Apart from the beautiful weather and scenic surroundings I had no responsibility or duty that was calling me to stay. The only intuition I had while there that seemed important was a call to pray at cemeteries for souls. I did this dutifully as I explored the island but did not feel it was a strong enough call to keep me there any longer than 8 days. Still, I had this feeling I should stay.

One afternoon while walking through a coffee plantation I decided to pray on the topic of my departure. I hit my knees and prayed. After going through some of my normal prayers I added something to the effect of, “God, if you would like me to stay please send a dog or a woman to spend time with so I can feel some physical purpose in being here.” Mind you I was not looking for romance. I was in no place to be entertaining romantic endeavors. I do however find that conversation and time spent with beautiful members of the opposite sex is enjoyable even when, often especially when, kept platonic. I thought not much more of these prayers for a few days. I had no dog delivered. No woman knocked on my door. Still I felt I should stay. So I took it upon myself and extended my trip 3 more weeks.

The next day I was riding in the back of Max’s car with him, his wife and their 3 month old baby. We were going to pick fruits from some area Max wanted to show me. At one point Max’s wife said to Max, “Do you know anyone who can watch a dog? My friend Svenja picked up a stray dog that isn’t fixed and she is afraid of him getting her two dogs pregnant. She needs someone to watch him while hers are in heat.” I kept silent. Max looked over his shoulder towards me, “What do you think, Sam? You wanna watch a dog while you’re here?” I had told him I’d be staying a few more weeks already. “Sure!” I agreed, not sharing my excitement at the opportunity.

That afternoon a beautiful German horse trainer named Svenja was at my door with a huge pit mix. After normal introductions and her expressing gratitude for watching him she looked around the property a bit. She asked about my travels and why I was here. I explained the property being my friend’s and what I was there to do. We casually talked and walked around the property while I acquainted myself with the huge dog. Once I learned he was unnamed, I quickly named him Bubba. He was very much a “Bubba”.

Svenja looked to the pasture and the few head of cattle that were grazing and asked me if there was a buckskin horse out there. “You mean, Buck? Yea he’s out there.” Her excitement was evident. She asked me all about him. I informed her that he was my friend’s horse and I didn’t know much about him. I shared my handling of him and asked if she wanted to meet him. I had already spent a few mornings feeding him treats and brushing him. I even tried lunging him a few times with little success but knew he was sweet and safe to handle despite being a bit ornery. She did want to meet him and shared her admiration of him with me. Apparently she was actively training a few horses down the road and would drive by and see Buck weekly. She found him to be beautiful and was curious what his story was. I shared what I knew about him, that he was retired from running cattle after being rammed by a bull and was about 12 or so years old.

We went into the pasture to visit with him. He came to my whistling thanks to my previous deliveries of palms full of sugar and banana leaves. They took to each other quickly. She asked if she could ride him some time and I told her I’d tried mounting him bareback with little success but that I’d check with my friend to make sure it was ok.

Over the next few days I got to know Bubba more. He came with me everywhere and was the perfect truck dog from the start. I’d leave him in the truck when I went places he couldn’t go and come back to find him fast asleep not having caused any trouble. He didn’t even eat the bag of treats I got for him that I stored on the dash, well not until our last night together at least which I found pretty charming of him. Svenja had told me to keep a look out for a potential owner as she didn’t plan to keep him. I dutifully kept my salesman hat on everywhere we went. Stray dogs are abundant in that area of the big island and convincing people to take in a dog isn’t as easy as other parts of the country. I took him hiking at various spots and tried my luck at finding him a new owner at the farmers market each time they were open. I had no luck with finding a new owner for a while and wasn’t too disappointed as I ws enjoying his quiet calm company. The big old dog mostly slept and ate. He did like our long hikes.

Once I confirmed with my friend that me and Svenja could ride the horse she asked to come over and give it a go. I agreed and she came over for breakfast beforehand. I made us some eggs and bacon and she brought huge delicious avocados. Our conversations rolled smoothly. I enjoyed her company. She was very smart and had lived a pretty interesting life her beauty and German accent didn’t hurt either. After breakfast we went down to the pasture to wrangle Buck using banana leaves and sugar. Svenja and Buck took to one another quickly. Horses seem to have a pretty good read on good natured folks. He gave her no fuss at the girth and barely shifted from her mounting him. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them get to know one another. A beautiful happy woman on a horse in a prairie with the Pacific Ocean at the horizon. I pray moments like this don’t escape my memory.

Our friendship went on casually over the weeks I was on the island. She would invite me to come watch her ride the horses she was training down the road or we’d take turns riding Buck. We took Bubba on a long hike one time and had the loveliest chat about our own personal histories. She called on me to change a flat tire on her truck when she broke down near my house. What was most interesting about our interactions was the synchronicity. I could tell a romantic endeavor wasn’t the calling. Surely I was attracted to her and my imagination was activated at moments. I am just a man. What we talked about was so interesting. We had both found somewhat different solutions to a common problem and were able to relate facts to one another from our own experience of similar things that we handled in different ways. It was truly captivating conversation and time spent that felt so nourishing. I am grateful for that time together and getting to watch her ride along the prairies of south point. A happy woman on a horse is like nothing else.

Coming to the end of my trip I was concerned that I was not having any luck finding a new owner for Bubba. I had considered trying to ship him back to the mainland to keep him myself but thought it wrong to take this beautiful happy dog off the island. The weather is so mellow there and couldn’t bring my self to take him away from it in his old age. Svenja had been really prodding me to take him but I knew it wasn’t the right call. Finally, on my second to last night I was at a local book club I had been going to and I just had strongest intuition that his owner was there. I was standing out front of the building the book club was at and turned around to see Uncle Ross. Uncle Ross is a big, quiet, calm man of the island. “Hey Uncle Rosss, you want a dog?” I asked without the slightest thought. “Let me see him.” He responded. I walked him over to the truck and opened the door to reveal Bubba who was sleepy chomping his lips and looking to see what had woken him. Uncle Ross and Bubba look each other over a moment then Uncles Ross simple said “Yea, I’ll take hime.” He told me to bring him by before I left and that he’d take good care of him. I was so pleased to have found a good owner and especially him to myself the last two night. I had bonded with him pretty tight.

Weeks after leaving I had connected Svenja with my friend who owned the land and she eventually made a deal to buy Buck. She sends pics of the two of them now and again. I am so glad I stayed the extra few weeks and was used to connect a girl with a horse and a dog with a home. I pray I remain open for these little tasks that have brought such richness and sweet memories to my life. Peace to anyone reading.