I came across some notes today about Butch, the unattractive little dog who is the hero of my children\u2019s book, \u201cButch the One of a Kind Dog.\u201d\u00a0 I had additional stories about him on a blog of the same name.\u00a0 When I started the loose strings from the past blog, I moved the stories to this site.\u00a0 Some of the stories did not make the move.\u00a0 This is one of those stories.<\/p>\n
FARM DOG<\/p>\n
Butch was self-appointed overseer of the operations on our little farm west of Georgetown.\u00a0 He had a built-in sensor that told him when the boys were going to the farm.\u00a0 He would leap into the back of the pickup and wait patiently.\u00a0 Yes, leap is the correct verb.\u00a0 He did not wait for the tail- gate to be lowered.\u00a0 He would jump over it with ease.<\/p>\n
He preferred to ride on the tool box behind the cab of the pickup.\u00a0 One morning he decided that the view would be better from the top of the cab.\u00a0 Ken happened to look over and see Butch\u2019s shadow.\u00a0 When there were no other vehicles on the road, Ken slammed on the brakes.\u00a0 Butch came sliding down the windshield, off the front of the cab, \u00a0and rolled to the side of the road.\u00a0 He never got on top again.\u00a0 Ken tried several things to break the habit of riding on the tool box.\u00a0 Butch persisted until one evening when he did not make it home.\u00a0 The boys went looking for him.\u00a0 They had no idea where they had lost him.\u00a0 They did not find him.\u00a0 Several hours later, Butch came limping home.\u00a0 He never rode on the tool box again.<\/p>\n
He was at the farm for the building of the fences, the pens, and the barn.\u00a0 He periodically checked on progress, but he spent most of his time exploring and chasing rabbits.\u00a0 He would chase rabbits until he was exhausted.\u00a0 He would rest for a while and go again.\u00a0 No one ever saw him catch a rabbit or saw evidence that he ever harmed one.\u00a0 That did not seem to be his objective.\u00a0 He just wanted them to play chase with him.<\/p>\n
Butch was not always ready to leave the farm when time came to return home.\u00a0 He would ignore the calls to come to the pickup.\u00a0 Several times he was left behind, and someone had to go back for him before dark.\u00a0 He was always waiting on the spot where he had gotten out of the pickup earlier in the day.\u00a0 Ken was tired one evening and said he was not going back for the dog.\u00a0 Butch could just stay out there.\u00a0 Ken relented after 10 PM and went back to get him.\u00a0 Butch was waiting where he had gotten out of the pickup that morning.<\/p>\n
When the fencing was completed, the horses were moved to the farm.\u00a0 This was no big deal.\u00a0 He already knew them.\u00a0 One day some different giants arrived and jumped out of the trailer.\u00a0 They were smaller than the horses but definitely large.\u00a0 Butch approached one of them cautiously.\u00a0 This was a cow, and she was as curious about him as he was about her.\u00a0 She put her big wide nose down to sniff him.\u00a0 When Butch looked up, her friends had made a tight circle around him and noses were approaching him from all sides.\u00a0 Oh dear!\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know what to do.\u00a0 He hunkered down, but he saw no way out.\u00a0 He knew to stay away from the long legs.\u00a0 They could kick.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, Ken happened to look around and walked over to see what the cows were interested in.\u00a0 The cows looked at Ken and backed up slightly.\u00a0 Butch saw his chance and darted out of the circle.\u00a0 He kept his distance from them until one of them had a baby.\u00a0 Butch was curious, but he thought he was a safe distance back.\u00a0 Momma cow thought differently.\u00a0 She put her head down and started chasing him.<\/p>\n
He stuck to chasing rabbits after that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[202,201],"class_list":["post-714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1972-to-1987","tag-butch-and-the-farm","tag-dog-likes-the-country-dog-has-bad-habits"],"yoast_head":"\n