Search just our sites by using our customised search engine

Unique Cottages | Electric Scotland's Classified Directory

Click here to get a Printer Friendly PageSmiley

Pets
Find Bodrum


      Bright early sunlight brought a peaceful,  calm morning. The heavy rain the night before gave the greens of the yard a brightness and it was well worth having endured the storm. There was a pleasure about a morning like this. It was something like a rebirth of some sort. The quiet world enveloped them like a comfy old robe. Of course, Sam was out walking the property. His doing this let him know if there was any storm damage.

       Bodrum, the dog next door, was without question,  the biggest Boxer you have ever seen.  He was closer to the size of a small horse than a dog. Whether he was bounding up and  down beside the chain link enclosure, standing with his paws up on the fence, or booming with his bark which was just as big as he was,  we were always aware how huge he was. The dog loved to rest his front paws on the fence while someone rubbed behind his ears. The water hose on hot days he handled as easily as we manage a fountain for drinking. Bodrum  lived his life behind a two acre fenced  yard. Our neighbors worried he might be a nuisance to us but how could we bothered by such a friendly beast?

        There was no booming bark this morning. Usually this was part of Sam's morning walk. The dog loved to bound along beside him even though the fence separated them. Sam was scraping his feet over and over on the rubber mat at the back door before he came into the kitchen where Dee was setting his coffee cup on the table.

       “Don't worry about anything on your feet. I haven't vacuumed yet.”  Dee called to Sam.

       “This wet grass clings to my feet.”  Sam told her.

        “I didn't hear Bodrum. Is he off to the other side of the yard?”

       “The storm downed that old dead tree on the lot behind them. When it came down it simply flattened the fence.  I wonder if Bodrum is loose.”

         No sooner had Sam made that comment when the phone rang. It was their neighbor, Josy.  “Have you seen Bodrum?”  Their neighbor was inquiring about her dog.

       “No!  We haven't seen him. I wondered why I had not heard him. Sam said a tree fell on your fence?”

        “Yes, oh yes.”  The quiet little woman with her sweet voice calmly spoke. “Bodrum must have just walked over the fence. I don't know where he went but someone shot him. He was all bloody when he ran past here.  I thought maybe he came up there?”

        “OH how awful!  That poor thing. No, he hasn't been here. I'll tell Sam.  He can help George find him.

         When Dee told Sam about what had happened he simply turned around and went back out the  back door. Dee warned her neighbor. “Sam is on his way over there. Tell George.  Together they can find him.”

         Dee could hear Josy calling to George as she hung up the phone.

         After about a thirty minute wait Sam came through the back door.  Dee always had to question him in order to find out what was happening.  “Did you find him?  Is he alive?”

       “George is taking him to the vet.  It looks like they shot him with a shotgun. There are just a lot of pellets.  He wasn't bleeding too awfully bad.  I think he will be all right. George will just have to clean him up.”

       “Where did you find him?”  Dee asked Sam. She was curious to know.

       “He was under a tree down close to the spring. It was cool there. Bodrum probably was thirsty too. You know how much water he can drink. I don't know how long he was gone. Why he didn't go into his own yard I cannot tell you. He probably is in shock.”

        “Undoubtedly!”  Dee felt it was very wrong for someone to shoot the dog. “They were probably afraid of him. How could they know he is just a gentle giant?  Everything about him makes anyone believe he is so fierce.”

         “He might have been into their livestock. Everything is fun and games with him. He's just a big puppy at heart.  The ranchers  will protect their cattle or whatever.”

          As it turned out Bodrum was't injured badly. It was bird shot in the gun and  did not penetrate his  body.  His thick skin caught the worst of it. The  danger of infection was taken care of by the doctor.

         When Josy called to thank Dee for sending her husband the women both had a chuckle over the overgrown puppy who never had any freedom and only abused the privilege by running the rancher's herd.  Dee was glad to see Josy wasn't too disturbed over the happening. They visited for a while.  After her neighbor hung up, Dee was mumbling about men with guns who shoot pets.

        Sam in his usual unperturbed way simply said, “All's well that ends well.”


Return to the Pets Index Page


 


This comment system requires you to be logged in through either a Disqus account or an account you already have with Google, Twitter, Facebook or Yahoo. In the event you don't have an account with any of these companies then you can create an account with Disqus. All comments are moderated so they won't display until the moderator has approved your comment.

comments powered by Disqus

Quantcast