Part 3/8:
Millie’s Resilience and Survival
Despite her harsh environment and the apparent neglect and mistreatment, Millie managed to endure for a full year on her own. This resilience hints at her strong survival instincts and resourcefulness. The narrator speculates that she likely kept to the forested areas behind Jeff’s property, avoiding roads and possible dangers, which helped her stay safe amid threats like coyotes.
Remarkably, she showed signs of barking and defending her territory when something came through the night—an indication of her protective instincts kicking in, perhaps for the first time that the narrator had heard her bark. Her ability to survive alone and her eventual return to the narrator’s property underscores her strength and adaptability.