On A Walk

The first few days in my new home opened my world to a host of new experiences. No longer was I kept in a small cage outside. Instead my time was spent in the house, lying on the sofa with my mum and dad, sleeping with my mum either on her bed or on my own comfy one on the floor beside her, and receiving so much love I would have cried with joy if I could! I never felt hunger, in fact for the first few weeks my mum fed me several small meals a day. There was always water for me to drink, a soft place to rest. Slowly I grew stronger.

The only problem was when my mum tried to put something around my neck. I always cried and fought because that thing meant pain, not being able to breathe. Mum was always very patient and gentle with me, never getting angry or shouting at me. She would calm me enough to put the thing on me, then take me outside. To begin with she didn't walk me far, my muscles were still very under-developed so I tired quickly, but also because I was afraid. With every step I expected to feel the thing tighten round my throat, choking me, expecting to be dragged along. Other fears haunted me too, was she taking me back to that hell? Would I lose all my new found happiness?

Over time I learned that I needn't be afraid, I could walk with my mum or dad without being hurt, and, best of all, they always took me home! That was when the walks started to be fun and I experienced all sorts of new things. My nose led me to lots of interesting smells, I once found a rabbit, but mum refused to let me chase it. I still wasn't fully fit so running was off the menu for now.

There was also a problem with people and other dogs. They frightened me, pure and simple. My previous experience had taught me that people were cruel and, although my mum and dad were different, others were not to be trusted. One day a man leaned over me and I thought he was going to beat me, so I snapped at him. Mum put her hand over my nose, holding my mouth gently closed. She said something to the man and he came and knelt in front of me, speaking softly and holding out his hand. Although I was shaking, I sniffed at him. Then he tickled under my chin! I didn't know what to do, so I just sat and let him do it. It was confusing and gave me a lot to think about.

That was my first experience of strangers. It took a long time and mum had her work cut out, but eventually I learned I would not be hurt, in fact, meeting new people could be fun.

Dogs were another matter. My old owners had kept two other dogs besides me. They were kept in the house and were looked after well. Sometimes, on the rare occasions I was allowed out of my cage, the two of them would attack me. Luckily they never did any serious damage, but I learned dogs were not nice. So when mum and I met one on our walks, I would always growl and bark at them. It was my way of warning them that I was bigger and stronger now, so they better stay away.

One day mum and I were out in the fields and we met a lady with a small dog. I had never seen one so tiny before and when it came up to me I was very unsure what to do. It was a dog, dogs hurt me, so I should growl and bark, right?

This little thing didn't seem to care that I was bigger and could easily hurt him. He stood on his hind legs and licked my face then sat in front of me holding up a paw. Confused I looked at mum, she rubbed my head then bent down and stroked the little stranger. He lay on his back and mum rubbed his tummy. I took the risk and put my head down to have a good sniff, wary in case he leaped up and attacked me. He didn't, he just lay there allowing me to do it, then he put his front paws on my face. He licked me again then got up and stood beside me.

We started to walk and this little thing stayed right beside me. When I stopped to sniff, he did too. When he found something interesting, I was allowed to investigate with him. I think I fell in love on that walk and we met up every day from then on. He, with help from mum and dad, helped me to over-come the fear and make friends with other dogs we met. I still didn't like or trust collies, but where we lived then, there weren't many around.

Life continued to be good. My strength improved slowly and the walks became longer. That was when mum discovered the first of many problems.