Recently
I had to say good bye to ‘Little
Secrets’.
It was one of the toughest
things to do but deep down I hope he understood.
Scamp or
Scampie as I called him came into my life just over 3 years ago on the night of
the 18th April 2015. This
timid classical looking sheepdog was spotted on the gravel road close to
Rookwood and late that Saturday afternoon we received a call alerting us to his
presence. Being Border Collie fans and
owners, he was thought to be one of ours.
He however was found not to be one of our clan but we collected him and
brought him home to Rookwood.
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| The night he was found |
I
remember looking at this little dog full of cockleburs (that had started
embedding itself into his skin and festering) and wondering where and why was
he dumped or lost. He had such a timid,
sad little face. He spent the night in
my pantry (where all my sick and injured vultures so often do).
My first
option was then to find his ‘owner’ so I duly took pictures and advertised as
wide as my network would allow. I only had
2 enquiries; however, neither matched the description of a young timid black
and white Border Collie male. I also
recall getting an offer for 3 homes for him but somehow, my gut feeling, must
have said – he was to share his short life with us at Rookwood.
He
clearly had been exposed to a very bad start in his life as on the Sunday
morning when I took him out (on a lead) to go and wee he literally crawled
along on the grass and hardly lifted a leg to wee. He had already booked his place in my heart as
I realized this little guy was not going to cope with just anybody. He needed lots of reassurance to come into
his own and continued to look for this through his time with me.
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| Scampie for the first trip down to the river |
Scampie’s
first trip down to the river with the other dogs was an experience I will never
forget as clearly he had never played or swum in water before. He initially ran around the pools of water as well as carefully jumping over the water but when he accidently fell into the water (2nd pool down),
he soon realized that water was fun after all.
Strangely enough whenever I took them down to the river he would never
ever climb into the 1st pool of water but always get into the water from
the 2nd pool onwards! From
then onwards walks down the river were a huge treat for him and his last walk
with me was exactly just that – a goodbye walk down the river at Rookwood.
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| Scampie in his 2nd pool swimming |
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| Scampie off to collect sheep |
Initially
we took him on a lead to all the stock, as he was a young dog and we did not
want him to have bad experiences like sheep or cattle trampling all over him as
well. But Scamp was a champion sheepdog,
he just had that natural instinct in him and became an excellent working
dog. As the months progressed he came
into his own and slotted in with the other collies of Rookwood. This sad little face became this happy little
alert face. There would obviously always
be a hierarchy with Jack and Scamp also having a bit of a growling match every
now and then but somehow Scamp knew he was actually at the bottom of the pack.
Whenever
I took them for a walk this happy dog and would bounce along ahead of me always
to come back and fall behind me on my heels and shove his little wet nose into
my hand for that reassurance. Scampie
had a tree called a Scampie tree (Rhus pendulina) which I eventually padded
with old denim material as he would run along and jump up and grab the main
stem and swing himself around it.
Needless to say the tree took a hammering and lost growth in the top
half but is still alive. This tree I
will nurture for the rest of my life.
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| Scampie and Oz |
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| Sharing one of his many "secrets" with Scott |
He had
one pet hate, Greater Double Collared sunbirds and Cape White-eyes. He would bark at them. I am not sure if it was the pitch of their
call or just their presence that irritated him.
He had this deep little bark and often one would hear him give a double
bark as he found them in the trees outside the kitchen. This habit also became something he did when
he was happy that everybody had arrived back home – he would run in the
direction of where his tree was and give a little double bark of happiness.
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| Happy dogs together on a walk - Zorro, Scott and Scampie |
Scamp was
not to have it all his way. Last year at
the end of June, he jumped off the bakkie whilst it was stationary and was left
behind at the poplar trees half way between Duncraggen and Rookwood. We went back to look for him and called and
called and could not find him. The next
morning the wood cutters alerted us of his presence (in the same area) where
they heard him, no doubt barking at the birds again! Scampie was home again! Phew. 
Earlier
this year I noticed he favoured one of his back legs and fearing this might be
a hip problem, we discovered after xrays that his knee ligament had been
damaged. As he was such a good little
working dog, we decided to have his knee ‘replacement’ done and with strict
rest including an initial spell in the vulture crate to keep him quiet, he
seemed to recover well enough to be able to use his leg again. Although one could see he still always
favoured the leg after working for long periods which was perfectly
understandable. I also knew that this
would shorten his working life but gave him the mobility he needed.
Scamp and
a motor vehicle were never friends. He
never voluntarily jumped up onto the back of the bakkie and always had to be
picked up and loaded. He travelled with
me inside a vehicle on an odd occasion but was never ever comfortable. Sadly this fear was to end his life too and I
know he never meant to be in the wrong place when the vehicle went over
him. I just wish it could have been different
and that I could explain to him the pain and the shock that he felt after this
was never his fault.
As I
travelled to town with him, my heart knew it was our final goodbye with just a
glimmer of hope on the horizon.
Bridgette did all she could to calm him and treat him for shock but the
xrays revealed what I had feared the most – paralysed in the one back leg and
crushed hips. The toughest call was the
one I had to make but I know with the
wag of your tail when I bid you farewell and whispered 'secrets' in your ear as you went to sleep, I hoped you
understood that you were very very special Scampie.
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| always checking for that reassurance |
Dear Scampie,
“I will miss the patter of your little feet
running through the house looking for me, and then shoving your nose under my
hand for me to talk to you when you had found me. I will miss that deep double bark outside the
back door. Your excited, happy demeanour
in the mornings when I got up to feed you all.
I will miss that nervous pant with the smile you so often had. The ‘little secrets’ you whispered in my ear
when you were happy. The times I had to
‘protect you’ from the lightning and thunder outside. The games we played with you trying to see
what is in your ticklish front feet. Your
determined little shove from behind through my legs to tell me you are there
and want some love. The walks we took
all over Rookwood with the other dogs and the games we played in the
water. The house is now truly quiet
without you but rest in peace my little dog – thank you for sharing some of
your life with me and run free now. I
will always carry your spirit in my soul.”
Lots and lots of love
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| Rest in Peace Scamp |
Scampie
is now buried near a Scampie tree at Rookwood – Rhus pendulina
