One woman and her dog.

Another work on a friends dog. 

The owner of this dog, Tweed, has this and another dog and she loves them to bits. My son and daughter in law have a dog that is treated very much as an important member of the family.

I have spoken about my own dog on many occasions. Living not far from me I have a lovely neighbour who I saw now and again. She did not venture from her home very often. She had a friend who had a lovely little dog that she was finding it difficult to keep, my neighbour took the little dog in. Now I see her almost every day as she goes out walking and playing with the dog. 

Dogs can transform lives.  It has not always been so.  I wonder if you know how this happened?

Long, long ago the Jackal and the Dog were friends and lived in the bush. They hunted together every day. In the evening they came home and ate their food together. One day they did not catch anything and came back very hungry. A cold wind was blowing in the bush. 

"Oh," said the Dog, "it is so bad to be hungry and cold!" 

"Go to sleep," the Jackal said. "When morning comes, we shall go hunting again and we shall catch a young antelope." 

But the Dog could not sleep. Then he saw a red light far away. 

"Jackal," he cried, "what is that red light over there?" 

"There's a village and that red light is a man's fire," the Jackal answered. 

"Fire is warm and it is cold here," said the Dog. "I say, Jackal, will you go and bring some fire? You are so brave!" 

"No, no, I won't. You can bring, if you like." 

The Dog did not want to go, because he was afraid of men. 

But he thought, "I am sure there are some bones near the fire. I can eat them. And the fire is so warm!" He was so hungry and cold! Hunger and cold made him forget his fear and he said to the Jackal, "I am going to the village to get some fire and some bones. If I don't come back soon, please cry Bo-aa, bo-aa! Then I shall know where you are and where I must go." 

So the Dog ran to the village. He saw a hut near the fire. There were some bones near the hut. They were so good for the hungry Dog! He came nearer to the bones. But then a man came out of the hut and saw the Dog. The Dog was afraid of him and lay down as if he was saying, "Oh, please, don't kill me! I am a poor Dog and I want to warm myself by the fire. Then I shall go back to the bush." 

The man looked at the dog and felt sorry for it, "You may sit by the fire. But when you are warm, you must go back to the bush." 

The Dog wagged his tail at him and sat by the fire. He was quite happy. He was warm and there was a big bone under his nose. He began to eat it. And then the man came out of the hut and asked "Aren't you warm yet?" 

"The dog lay down again," saw another bone not far away and wanted to eat it, too. Soon the man asked again, "Aren't you warm yet?" 

"Please let me stay a little longer. I am not quite warm yet," was the Dog's answer by laying closer to the man. 

Then the man came up to the Dog. The Dog looked into his eyes and said, "Yes, I am warm now, but I don't want to go back to the bush. I am often cold and hungry there. Let me live with you in the village, please! I shall help you to hunt birds and animals in the bush and forest. And you'll give me some bones to eat." 

"All right," the man said. "You may stay with me." 

From that day on the Dog began to live with the man. And when you hear the Jackal cry at night Bo-aa, bo-aa, you know that he is asking the Dog to come back. But the Dog never answers and now the Jackal lives in the bush alone.  And dogs from this day on have lived with man and given them in return unconditional love. 

This is a retelling of an old American Indian tale as accurate as I can recall it. 

Hope you have a marvellous day and those with dogs a great walk.