Damn Good Dog

The wind was warm and the grass was dry,
A small mob of cattle walked side by side.
Then suddenly tore a mickey* through an old fence.
Being tracked by the dogs, panting for rest.
The mickey* was lost, nowhere to be seen.
Back come the dogs, but only came two.
'Spud' and 'Molly', with their back legs giving up.
Wishing they had water to cool themselves down.
We arrived at the yards with 'Hendo' unfound.
Dad went for a look, but came back empty handed.
All packed in the tilly* we went searching for our lost workmate,
hoping to come back with him, knowing it might be too late.
We back tracked our path, hoping he was just lost and waiting for us to return.
On the opposite side from where we walked the cattle back, we came to a stop.
Dad called out “there he is.” Dad called "here boy.”
He didn’t even blink.
We took his collar off, and put him on the other side of a fallen over dead tree.
We put a cross of twigs on his still body
He’d had a good life and died from the heat.
A damn good dog, dead at my feet.

*A Mickey is an uncastrated bull which has had little contact with humans, horses and working dogs.
*Tilly is a ute of work vehicle used by stockman.

FOLLOW US


25

Write4Fun.net was established in 1997, and since then we have successfully completed numerous short story and poetry competitions and publications.
We receive an overwhelming positive feedback each year from the teachers, parents and students who have involvement in these competitions and publications, and we will continue to strive to attain this level of excellence with each competition we hold.

KEEP IN TOUCH

Stay informed about the latest competitions, competition winners and latest news!