Farm Dog

I came across some notes today about Butch, the unattractive little dog who is the hero of my children’s book, “Butch the One of a Kind Dog.”  I had additional stories about him on a blog of the same name.  When I started the loose strings from the past blog, I moved the stories to this site.  Some of the stories did not make the move.  This is one of those stories.

FARM DOG

Butch was self-appointed overseer of the operations on our little farm west of Georgetown.  He had a built-in sensor that told him when the boys were going to the farm.  He would leap into the back of the pickup and wait patiently.  Yes, leap is the correct verb.  He did not wait for the tail- gate to be lowered.  He would jump over it with ease.

He preferred to ride on the tool box behind the cab of the pickup.  One morning he decided that the view would be better from the top of the cab.  Ken happened to look over and see Butch’s shadow.  When there were no other vehicles on the road, Ken slammed on the brakes.  Butch came sliding down the windshield, off the front of the cab,  and rolled to the side of the road.  He never got on top again.  Ken tried several things to break the habit of riding on the tool box.  Butch persisted until one evening when he did not make it home.  The boys went looking for him.  They had no idea where they had lost him.  They did not find him.  Several hours later, Butch came limping home.  He never rode on the tool box again.

He was at the farm for the building of the fences, the pens, and the barn.  He periodically checked on progress, but he spent most of his time exploring and chasing rabbits.  He would chase rabbits until he was exhausted.  He would rest for a while and go again.  No one ever saw him catch a rabbit or saw evidence that he ever harmed one.  That did not seem to be his objective.  He just wanted them to play chase with him.

Butch was not always ready to leave the farm when time came to return home.  He would ignore the calls to come to the pickup.  Several times he was left behind, and someone had to go back for him before dark.  He was always waiting on the spot where he had gotten out of the pickup earlier in the day.  Ken was tired one evening and said he was not going back for the dog.  Butch could just stay out there.  Ken relented after 10 PM and went back to get him.  Butch was waiting where he had gotten out of the pickup that morning.

When the fencing was completed, the horses were moved to the farm.  This was no big deal.  He already knew them.  One day some different giants arrived and jumped out of the trailer.  They were smaller than the horses but definitely large.  Butch approached one of them cautiously.  This was a cow, and she was as curious about him as he was about her.  She put her big wide nose down to sniff him.  When Butch looked up, her friends had made a tight circle around him and noses were approaching him from all sides.  Oh dear!  He didn’t know what to do.  He hunkered down, but he saw no way out.  He knew to stay away from the long legs.  They could kick.

Fortunately, Ken happened to look around and walked over to see what the cows were interested in.  The cows looked at Ken and backed up slightly.  Butch saw his chance and darted out of the circle.  He kept his distance from them until one of them had a baby.  Butch was curious, but he thought he was a safe distance back.  Momma cow thought differently.  She put her head down and started chasing him.

He stuck to chasing rabbits after that.