The Friendly Enemey

My new Lady was OK.  I’d got fond of her quite quickly.  That was all down to the walks, of course.  In the first days when I lived with her, there would be breakfast, and then walk.  Then came my midday dental chew and walk. Later there was my evening meal, followed by a walk.

As time went on, other things were introduced. Sometimes I had to be a Good Girl through meetings. Once I even found myself in a place called a vestry! When I got bored with that, I trotted out onto the nice red carpet, where I lay down in comfort, and watched the Lady and the other people standing up, sitting down, and singing.  They were all very obedient.  I thought they did well.

So life was pretty relaxed for me, until Lily came.  Can you imagine? Another bitch, younger than me, smaller than me, and on my territory! I was very angry, and let her know it.  My Lady and Lily’s Lady made us walk up and down together, They insisted we sniff each other. Not my idea of fun, I assure you! Then they expected me to allow Lily to sit in my kitchen!

Of course, there was no way I could tolerate that.  I attacked as soon as Lily sat down. As I was on my lead, we were soon pulled apart, to the sound of some very cross words from my Lady.  Finally, the two Ladies made a line of chairs to divide the kitchen into two, with Lily on one side, and me on the other.  It looked like this:

                                                            Chair

                                                            Lady                       Me

                 Lily                                     Chair

                                                       Lady Table

I lay on my tartan bed and sulked.  Lily curled up in her round brown bed, and lay still.  Slowly, her scent permeated the kitchen. To my amazement there was no fear in it, no aggression. That was one relaxed, calm little bitch!

We were fed on either side of the chair-line that evening. Then Lily disappeared to go upstairs with her Lady. I relaxed, and I too slept. Maybe, just maybe, I could make friends with this peaceable, curly-haired little schnauzer. Maybe we could hunt together. I could show her the best smelling-places. We could form a pack.

I dreamt of a hunt and a teamwork kill; crunching bones between my teeth, play fights and chasing games.

JCG Blandford, 23^rd January, 2012

Moonlight Mystery

It wasn’t unusual, that summer, for the collie and I to walk in the dusk, or even the dark. We would stroll out onto the downland with the bright banners of sunset fading on our left, and the last rooks settling into the trees that lined the trailway below us.

That evening, we trod quietly, because we were hoping a patrolling owl would thrill us with a hunting pass. He didn’t appear, so at last I set the collie free to run and race and bounce and dance. How she loved that! Her piebald face would turn to me at the end of a racing circuit of the grass, and seem to laugh for very joy.

That was when I spotted the German shepherd trotting northwards, and then turning east towards us.  Suddenly anxious, I bent to my panting dog, to re-attach the lead to her collar. “We’ll meet this big dog together,” I assured her, and she licked my hand in understanding.

I looked up, to locate the German shepherd.  But he had utterly disappeared.  We looked for him that night, and for many nights to come, but never saw him again.  Yet in my mind, I can see him now, loping towards us, silvered by moonlight, beautiful.

JCG

Blandford, 22d January, 2012