And along came Harley.
If you remember Mom and Dad set off to find me a puppy companion and came home with huge 8 year old Tuck who towers over me. We get along famously as I quickly realized just how easy going Tuck is and that he is quite happy to let me be boss.
One day Dad came home and while we all sat on the porch he told us about his day at work.
All of our ears pricked up when he told us about a feral 'cane' puppy that had been following him around one of the villages he manages.
Now a cane dog can be an abandoned dog dumped in the sugar cane fields to fend for itself in the wild or a dog that has been born and raised in the fields and is basically feral.
To harvest the cane, however, the fields of cane is set on fire and burnt to the ground with the inevitable loss of life of many of its inhabitants.
At that time of the year packs of surviving dogs are often seen in villages scavenging for scraps of food yet too terrified to allow people to get near enough to help them. Some will sadly be hit by cars too as they run blindly across roads.
Anyway back to this puppy... Dad had noticed him emerging from the neighbouring cane fields when he and his crew were working on residents homes, for about a week now and the pup was gradually getting bolder and coming up for a stroke then following them for the rest of the day before disappearing back into the fields.
Dad had asked residents if they knew anything about him but they said he was just a cane dog who they threw scraps to as he was so very thin his ribs and backbone were the first things you noticed about him followed by his now wagging tail.
It was coming up to burning time for the pups field so Dad and Mom decided to try and save at least this dog. He was happy being stroked so we knew Dad would have a chance of catching him, it was just a case of picking the right moment.
Imagine our surprise when the next morning Dad pulled up and came into our house with his arms full of a hairy yet calm puppy whose tail was wagging furiously when he saw us all!
He was so thin that for a moment I considered donating my dinner to him but then I pulled myself together!!
And that is how Tuck, Spook and I became Auntie and Uncles to young Harley. I wont say fur brother as we have all had to teach him to respect his elders!
Poor Spook in particular suffered being playfully donked by Harleys nose until he finally snapped and boxed his ears for him!
Tuck used to patiently walk around with Harleys huge front paws draped around his neck in a bear hug.
Harley did think he could do that to me too but I only had to bear my teeth once for him to realise that Uncle Tuck was his best bet for rides.
Harley is black, tan and white and looked to be a long haired shepherd x.....as he has grown he looks mainly Australian Shepherd but with an undocked tail which is ridiculously plumy and does not stop wagging! Mainly across my face!
Dad made the mistake on day he brought him home of throwing a balled up pair of socks for him to fetch, which he caught on doing very quickly which impressed Dad no end.......... Mom however is not so impressed as from that moment on Harley thinks all socks are his and as she gathers up washing and sorts into the baskets a panic stricken Harley liberates his sock friends from the basket and hides them !!
Harley has filled out nicely now and has settled in as a family member but he still has the call of the wild in him and sniffs the air rolling across the cane fields. He loves to run and if see's a door open will barge thru it and run around our neighbours gardens and along our private road blissfully ignoring Dad;s calls to come back. Mom catches him by turning on the reversing horn of the golf cart and within seconds Harley has landed in the seat next to her eager for the expected walk this horn usually signals! Daft thing falls for this ploy every time!
Then he and Mom have to ride around the village to find Dad who is still searching for Harley! To the bystander it looks as if its Dad who has got lost and not Harley lol
Mom has worked on recall down in the field and clipped Harleys lead to Tucks so that Tuck brought him back with him when called until Harley finally figured out the commands. Now however he runs free off the lead with Tuck searching for bunnies. Disgusting little oik sometimes dives into the undergrowth and returns proudly carrying a long dead shrivelled rabbit or toad which for some strange reason he thinks Mom wants to inspect! Urgh!
That's our Harley!
Love and waggles
Ellie xx
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