A SHOCKING MAN Story 4

A SHOCKING MAN

Charley one of Leo's neighbours who Leo didn't like much, had a dog who was the bane of the district. "Patch was a thieving, scrounging cunning low cur, of very uncertain breeding, that his mother was a sport was the only certain thing about him. He was a motley black with a big white patch over his left eye. Most people and dogs, no matter how bad, have at least one redeeming feature. Patch never had one, and his owner Charley never had much more.

In the district there were quite a lot of dogs, cow dogs, sheep dogs, sporting dogs and pets, also a certain proportion of bitches, some of the bitches were well bred, and their owners were quite keen to breed a good litter of pups from them. Very few had much luck, nearly every litter of pups, whatever their breed, always seemed to have a few pups with patches over their eye or eyes, that was enough for ever the most dedicated of dog lovers to have one litter put down, no one wanted a little Patch.

When the bitches were in season, no matter how well the bitches were locked up, Patch seemed to get in.

Heavy wire netting didn't seem to deter him, timber walls and floor certainly didn't, even concrete was suspect he'd burrow underneath, and unless the concrete was exceedingly strong, Patch seemed to find a flaw, somehow and get in.

Another of his favourite tricks was scrounging tucker. Deep freezers were no trouble he seemed to know when someone had a freezer full and the top goodies disappeared. A lot of farmers keep their freezers in their garages, and patch seemed to know when the door was open.

6

Anyone who killed a beast and left it hanging up overnight often found to their chagrin a big proportion of it gone in the morning. Eggs were another favourite of Patch anyone who kept a few chooks, were lucky not to loose a good proportion of their eggs to the wandering thief.

One night Leo's wife Betty had cooked a roast for tea she had taken it out of the oven and put it on the bench, shortly afterwards the telephone rang and Betty went to answer it, after chatting for a while she heard the screen door bang, and thought Leo had come in, she called out "I wont be long dear" and went on talking.

Finishing her conversation she went out to the kitchen, and was surprised to see Leo coming over the paddock. She shrugged and said to herself "Funny I could have sworn I heard the screen door shut."

She looked in the sitting room and the children were in there watching the television.

By this time Leo was at the back door, she went out, and Leo said, "I just saw that blasted Patch of

Charley's running over the road, it looked like he was carrying something, I couldn't see what it was."

Betty went over to the bench and the roast was gone. She spun around, "I know what it was, it was our tea."

Leo looked bewildered. "I had just taken the roast out and put it on the bench, when the phone, rang. I heard the screen door slam and thought you had come in and pinched it, hell it was hot too, I hope it bums his gizzard out" Betty cried.

Leo wasn't very impressed.

Betty said "Something will have to be done about that dog, Charley denies his dog would do anything wrong. They are as bad as one another those two, can't something be done Leo?"

Leo said it would and very soon, a nice roast dinner, with a tin of spaghetti in lieu of the roast made him quite determined.

But Patch like a lot of human criminals was a very clever specimen, if like them he used his brain to do good, he would have been a very famous dog indeed. But I suppose the way he worked, the gains were more to his liking. For several days Leo was deep in thought, Betty often saw him fiddling with bits of wire, fashioning different shapes.

But Patch had no pattern, he never came often, and never came the same way, and never alway's left the way he'd come.

One day he would be down one end of the valley, and the next day up the other end, and then sometimes he wouldn't be seen for days on end. He didn't chase cars, sheep, cats or any other things that usual run of the mill, useless dogs did. Several had tried to shoot him, but to no avail, he seemed to know when a rifle or gun was around for his benefit.

Leo finally made a trap, it was quite a unique affair. He made it from heavy gauge netting, and steel mesh. It was made strong enough to catch a lion.

When it was made he baited it with a dead calf. It worked. He caught nearly every dog in the district except Patch.

In the meantime Patch had raided Mrs. Sandford's prize poultry farm, and ate several sittings of eggs.

She saw him and recognised him, she went and complained to Charley, but he denied it, he said Patch had been on the chain for several days and hadn't been off. He told her there was another dog that looked like Patch around, but he didn't know who owned it.

Pera Witaki lived in a little cottage on Leo's boundary. He was an old Maori who lived on his own most of the time, he minded his own business, and grew a good garden. He often gave Leo vegetables, and Betty often used to give him some meat and other odds and ends, his constant companion was a little brown spaniel bitch.

He was talking to Leo one day and said"That dog of Charley's he pinched my bread, he get him out of the mail box, he plurry clever that dog."

Leo admitted he was clever all right and wished someone would run over him. Pera replied 'Oh his days coming, he plurry big nuisance, he eat my dried eels and anything else he can find." Leo told him everyone was after him, Pera scratched his head, "We'll catch him."

Not long after this, Leo got his neighbour Doug to give him a hand to kill a beast. They did the job and hung the beast up. suspended from a front-end loader, on a tractor, Doug said"That bloody Patch will have a go at this beast tonight you mark my words."

"Oh no he won't" said Leo 'I've got the answer to him and any other dog."

THE END