How did a Stray Save the Day?

 

 

Snuggle down and we’ll tell you the true story of Kate’s grandfather.

As a young South Australian boy hurried to fix yard rails beside his pony, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.  A black and white dog was on the flat in the distance. The boy couldn’t waste too much time as he still had to have breakfast and get to school. He walked towards the dog slowly and called it in a gentle tone, but the dog disappeared into scrub. With three sheep dogs already on the farm it would be unlikely his father would welcome the idea of another dog.  Anyway, what if it was wild and already posed a threat to the sheep if it was starving.

A few days later the boy saw the dog again in the distance and once again he called softly to it. This time the dog moved toward him whimpering as it crawled on its stomach and stopped a few yards short of the boy.   He froze to see how close it would come but continued to speak in gentle tones and slowly he outstretched his hand. The dog moved closer and placed his head under the boy’s hand.

And there began a life-long friendship.  With much pleading (and a demonstration of how good the dog was with sheep and cattle) the boy’s father finally agreed the dog could stay. The depression years hit and many a land owner was forced to move on in search of work.  This is how the pooch ended up alone.  Later it was discovered the dog had trekked back to his old home only to find it deserted.

When the boy became a teenager, he secured work at Buckleboo and took the dog with him. An accident nearly cost him dearly when he was knocked off his horse by a tree limb he connected with at a gallop. But the dog stayed by the boy’s side and when night began to fall he trotted off to find help.  When the drovers saw him turn up alone, they knew there was trouble and they followed the trusty dog back to his injured owner.  A night on the ground in winter may have taken the boy’s life.  It took a stray to save him.

Leah & Angela O’Meara

Hound Dog Day Care (Specialists in Dog Minding & Dog Boarding, Pet Sitting Brisbane & Doggy Day Care Brisbane)