Each month I write a short story for our local paper. I’ve been thinking for a while I should repost them on my blog page. It wasn’t until a friend I saw last week commented that I hadn’t posted on my blog for a very long time that I realised she was right! Time and energy are often a barrier, but these stories are already written so there is really no excuse. All stories are based on real events and places but I have turned them into works of fiction. My dog is a real ‘Protective Species Conservation Dog’ and these are mine and her stories from 2021 …

A Dog’s Eye View – February 2021

The stars were twinkling and a morepork was calling when familiar footsteps woke me. In an instant I was out of my kennel and stretching my muscles. I was waiting at the door, wagging my tail when the human I know best opened the latch to my run. “Morning girl! Ready for a big day?” I knew from the tone of her voice we had a day of work and that made me happy. Once I’d toileted, I was in my dog box on the back of the ute. In my box I have a blanket over a rubber mat. I get plenty of fresh air, but at the same time am quite sheltered. I think I travel pretty comfortably, even over the rough stuff!

We travelled for quite some time. I went back to sleep, but woke when I felt the ute slow down. I knew this place; I’d been here before. I could smell the aviation fuel. The helicopter! I don’t really like going in the helicopter, it’s very noisy on my ears and I can’t feel or smell the ground or the trees. Still, I’m not alone and I trust Her, so I try and do my best and obey the commands given me. We are not alone today. As well as the pilot there is one who works with us from time to time. I wait impatiently in my box while the humans sort out their gear. Soon enough the door to my crate is opened and a lead is clipped onto my collar. My collar is tightened a notch or two and I know I can’t slip it over my head. I have my working vest clipped on, then I am taken off the ute to the helicopter. I sit on the floor with my head resting on my human’s knees. The noise gets louder and louder and soon we are lifting up, up and up. There are a few rattles and shakes but I’m quite used to them now. The first couple of times I flew I was pretty scared, but there is nowhere to go, so now I just try to relax.

Down, down, down and the helicopter lands. The door is opened and I jump out as fast as I can. I want to feel the earth under my paws! The lead holds me so I can’t just run off and we move away from the helicopter and huddle not far away until it is just a blur in the sky and barely audible. I am let off my lead and my collar is loosened again; finally I can move around and smell the area we have landed in. We are near a river that is loud and flowing very fast. I can smell weka and ducks, but I don’t think I am meant to look for them. There are also goats and deer and hare, but I have never tracked them before. I can’t smell other dogs or humans in this place.

My muzzle is put on. I don’t really like wearing a muzzle! This is the third one I have had over the years and it is especially made for me out of a very light metal, with soft material over my nose to hold it in place. It’s the best so far!  I also have a heavy collar put around my neck. I know this sends messages to a gadget that humans carry and can map and track where we go. Once the humans have their packs on and are sorted, we head off. I’m waiting for a command so I know what we are doing. Then it comes, “Where are the WHIO? Find it!”

I like whio, the blue duck that live in the rivers. The male whistles and his call excites me! I also know that whio means getting wet. We will be in and out of the river all day as well as clambering over stones, rocks and boulders. The terrain can be quite hard on my paws and I know that I can only manage three days of this type of work before I need to rest. I lift my nose to the wind and we set off. Over and around rocks and boulders, through the water to the other side and back again where the water is sometimes so deep I have to swim. The current is strong and I have to work hard to get to the other side where I scramble onto the bank and shake myself dry. The humans link arms and use sticks to help stabilise them as they follow me over the river. We work this way for a long time, it is tiring work. I know whio have been here, I smell their scent on some of the rocks in the river, but we haven’t found any yet.

Finally, it’s time for a rest. My muzzle is removed and I lay in the sun, on a grassy bank. I’m given a couple of biscuits and I’m happy to eat and snooze as I dry out and warm up. All too soon it will be time to move on but for now I’m going to make the most of this break and dream of the whio I am searching for.

“C’mon mate, it’s time to get back to work.” I get a gentle scratch behind my ears and a rub on my chest as I stretch out in the warm sun. My vest, now dry and warm is put back on and my muzzle is placed over my nose. The humans have partially dry socks and still wet boots to put on their feet. I suspect we will all be wet again soon enough. The place we have rested in is very peaceful. The river is nearby and it merrily bubbles over rocks as it makes it way through the valley. The valley is hemmed in with hills that reach up to the sky and seem to grow into larger mountains. In the distance I can see where a slip has come down and left a muddy scar in its wake. The trees that were in its way have been reduced to rubble and dumped into an untidy pile that I hope we don’t need to clamber over! We are in a grassy area with a few rocks and beech trees. Deer and goats have been here, I can smell them and their sign is around us. There is a track of sorts along the side of the river and we begin to follow it.

The river’s course bends and twists as we clamber over rocks, around and through gorges with dark shadows that never see the sun and through crystal clear water. The water is cold and it leaves me a bit breathless as I swim over to the far side. The current is so strong in places the water drags me with it until I can paddle over to the bank on the other side. Sometimes the track we follow leaves the river bank and then we too leave the track and find our way through the maze of rocks and boulders on the river’s edge. Periodically we encounter a deep pool that even the humans are reluctant to go through. They’d need to carry their packs above their heads and the water would come up over their chests! If there is no easy way to stay on the bank, we leave the river and scramble through bush and scrub, over hills and through gullies until we can meet the river again. It’s tiring work.

During a moment of boulder hopping along the river, I get a faint odour in the breeze. It stops me in my tracks and although I sense the humans stopping too, they become insignificant in my mind. I lift my nose to the air and take a deep sniff. My nose is going overtime; I smell humans, goats, weka, deer, a plant, someone’s left over lunch, mud and dirt. But over all that I smell the bird that we are looking for. There is a whio, maybe more than one ahead of us on the river. We move forward and around another bend. There is an impassable rock ahead of us, so we climb onto the track and begin to move away. This is wrong! We are leaving the birds. They are behind us. I turn around and head stealthily back towards the river. This is the time the relationship I have with the one who knows me best counts. She recognises what’s happening and says to her companion, “ Best we follow the dog, she’s onto something”.

And there they are, three beautiful whio, living freely in the rocks that protrude from the clean and fast flowing river. Once again, my job is done!

The beautiful Mica is now retired and we no longer look for whio. The memories of the back country rivers, high in the alpine and sub-alpine zones with their pure, clean water is one that will stay forever. I am sure that the now old dog does not forget, but remenbers when time and memory allow.