Post by Paul on Dec 22, 2004 11:22:03 GMT 9.5
BIG KELPIE WITH A HEART OF GOLD.
Red was an ordinary farm dog - mostly red kelpie but with a lot of ‘Nirranda’ thrown in as well. A big red kelpie with a heart of gold and a mind all of his own. We thought his job was to bring in the cows morning and night. Most of the time he agreed but sometimes not. Approximately once a month he would take a holiday and no amount of yelling would make him budge, he would refuse point blank to do any work. If forced to, he'd take off and hide under the cypress where nobody could get at him. If he didn't go under the cypress, he'd go down the paddock (under duress) and proceed to chase the cows in every direction, except the cow yards! After a while we realized this, and just said, "Red is on strike" and go round up the cows ourselves.
In summer, Red's favourite bed was on top of the low trimmed cypress hedge. He would lie on his back with all four legs stuck up in the air - what a sight. Another trick was when Dad trimmed the high cypress which was about 18 feet high, Red walked up the ladder and joined him on top of the hedge. This was OK until it was time to come down; he never did master walking down the ladder and had to be carried. A big job as he weighed a ton! One day he climbed up the ladder to be with Dad while he was trimming the hedge. Red promptly found himself a comfortable possie and went to sleep. When Dad called red to get the cows, we were reminded of his predicament by a very agitated dog barking loudly from the top of the hedge.
In summer, Dad would do a bit of fishing which included catching crays. These were kept live, in the outside shower recess until they were cooked in a copper in the cow yard. One day Red went missing and we couldn't find him anywhere. We didn't worry as he often went walk-a-bout and returned when he was ready. Mum went over to collect the crays and pushed open the shower door. Red was standing terrified in the corner surrounded by large crays! The shower was one cool place in summer and Red would often walk in and lie there - the door must have shut and there he was, trapped by alien monsters. He steered clear of the shower for a long time after that.
The time came for our septic tank to be pumped out. The lid was removed from the tank and the truck maneuvered into position. Red, being curious and wanting to know everything, ran up and stuck his nose in to see what all the excitement was about. The whiff must have been a bit too much, because he recoiled and took off to the bush, where he stayed for two days.
Dad was clearing an out-paddock and was using gelignite to blow out the stumps. The jelly was set with a detonator and then Dad would run and sit under the nearby tractor so the lumps of dirt and debris wouldn't land on his head. Red was nowhere in sight when the jelly was set, but he must have seen Dad fiddling with the stump. Naturally, it was time for him to investigate. As Dad ran for the tractor, Red ran for the stump and in spite of Dad yelling at him to come, he went to the stump first. Dad was torn between rushing out and grabbing Red or leaving him to his fate, then Red decided he'd better go over to the tractor - at least, some of the way. It was then that the jelly blew and Red was showered with debris. Another trauma for him, this time he went bush for three days.
Probably the most upsetting time for us children was the time Red was "killed". We were waiting at the corner for the daily mail bus to come through. Red was with us and he was knocked over by a car and killed. The man stopped, picked up the ‘dead’ dog and threw him in the bushes. He then went to our home to tell Mum he had killed our dog. Ten minutes later Red appeared, wobbling over to us on very unsteady legs, he had only been knocked out. He was a bit funny after that for a while but he eventually recovered totally.
At this time we had three dogs when two were enough. Another farmer in the district had lost his dog and Dad offered to lend him Red until the farmer's half grown dog was useful. Red was taken by car to the farmer's property which was about 9 miles distant. Red had never been there before. The next morning we rushed out expecting to see Red home, but there was no sign of him. Six months later we went out and found Red parked under the cypress. Dad rang the farmer, who admitted he'd given Red a hiding for chasing his cows in the opposite direction to the one they had supposed to go. The farmer's pup was now grown enough to be of some use, but still not quite old enough, so Red was returned. The next morning Red was back at our place, under the cypress, so we then decided he was home for good.
When Red was really pleased to see some one he would ‘smile’ by curling up his upper lips. This looked very much like a dog snarling and about to attack. One day the Minister visited and Red decided to smile at him. The Minister ran back and jumped into his car. It took us a long time to convince him that it was a ‘smile’ and not a snarl.
Red was just an ordinary red kelpie farm dog, much loved and part of our family for many years.
©Heather Carr. Highbury, SA.
Red was an ordinary farm dog - mostly red kelpie but with a lot of ‘Nirranda’ thrown in as well. A big red kelpie with a heart of gold and a mind all of his own. We thought his job was to bring in the cows morning and night. Most of the time he agreed but sometimes not. Approximately once a month he would take a holiday and no amount of yelling would make him budge, he would refuse point blank to do any work. If forced to, he'd take off and hide under the cypress where nobody could get at him. If he didn't go under the cypress, he'd go down the paddock (under duress) and proceed to chase the cows in every direction, except the cow yards! After a while we realized this, and just said, "Red is on strike" and go round up the cows ourselves.
In summer, Red's favourite bed was on top of the low trimmed cypress hedge. He would lie on his back with all four legs stuck up in the air - what a sight. Another trick was when Dad trimmed the high cypress which was about 18 feet high, Red walked up the ladder and joined him on top of the hedge. This was OK until it was time to come down; he never did master walking down the ladder and had to be carried. A big job as he weighed a ton! One day he climbed up the ladder to be with Dad while he was trimming the hedge. Red promptly found himself a comfortable possie and went to sleep. When Dad called red to get the cows, we were reminded of his predicament by a very agitated dog barking loudly from the top of the hedge.
In summer, Dad would do a bit of fishing which included catching crays. These were kept live, in the outside shower recess until they were cooked in a copper in the cow yard. One day Red went missing and we couldn't find him anywhere. We didn't worry as he often went walk-a-bout and returned when he was ready. Mum went over to collect the crays and pushed open the shower door. Red was standing terrified in the corner surrounded by large crays! The shower was one cool place in summer and Red would often walk in and lie there - the door must have shut and there he was, trapped by alien monsters. He steered clear of the shower for a long time after that.
The time came for our septic tank to be pumped out. The lid was removed from the tank and the truck maneuvered into position. Red, being curious and wanting to know everything, ran up and stuck his nose in to see what all the excitement was about. The whiff must have been a bit too much, because he recoiled and took off to the bush, where he stayed for two days.
Dad was clearing an out-paddock and was using gelignite to blow out the stumps. The jelly was set with a detonator and then Dad would run and sit under the nearby tractor so the lumps of dirt and debris wouldn't land on his head. Red was nowhere in sight when the jelly was set, but he must have seen Dad fiddling with the stump. Naturally, it was time for him to investigate. As Dad ran for the tractor, Red ran for the stump and in spite of Dad yelling at him to come, he went to the stump first. Dad was torn between rushing out and grabbing Red or leaving him to his fate, then Red decided he'd better go over to the tractor - at least, some of the way. It was then that the jelly blew and Red was showered with debris. Another trauma for him, this time he went bush for three days.
Probably the most upsetting time for us children was the time Red was "killed". We were waiting at the corner for the daily mail bus to come through. Red was with us and he was knocked over by a car and killed. The man stopped, picked up the ‘dead’ dog and threw him in the bushes. He then went to our home to tell Mum he had killed our dog. Ten minutes later Red appeared, wobbling over to us on very unsteady legs, he had only been knocked out. He was a bit funny after that for a while but he eventually recovered totally.
At this time we had three dogs when two were enough. Another farmer in the district had lost his dog and Dad offered to lend him Red until the farmer's half grown dog was useful. Red was taken by car to the farmer's property which was about 9 miles distant. Red had never been there before. The next morning we rushed out expecting to see Red home, but there was no sign of him. Six months later we went out and found Red parked under the cypress. Dad rang the farmer, who admitted he'd given Red a hiding for chasing his cows in the opposite direction to the one they had supposed to go. The farmer's pup was now grown enough to be of some use, but still not quite old enough, so Red was returned. The next morning Red was back at our place, under the cypress, so we then decided he was home for good.
When Red was really pleased to see some one he would ‘smile’ by curling up his upper lips. This looked very much like a dog snarling and about to attack. One day the Minister visited and Red decided to smile at him. The Minister ran back and jumped into his car. It took us a long time to convince him that it was a ‘smile’ and not a snarl.
Red was just an ordinary red kelpie farm dog, much loved and part of our family for many years.
©Heather Carr. Highbury, SA.
