A GIANT OF A DOG
anonymous

When my daughter was born I thought she should have a pet and at the time a lady up the road had a dog with a litter of pups. I asked her to pick one out for my little girl and she did. It was a pure bred collie.It grew up to be a really friendly but hugh and powerful dog. He was too friendly and playful to have him around my little daughter. She was just learning to walk and every time he come near her he'd knock her down with his tail or
when he'd go to lick her face. She was on her arse more than she was on her feet. My brother's boys used to take the dog to school to fight with other dogs. They said he could beat any two German shepherds. He was a mighty big collie. A giant of a dog! Anyway, I felt he was too big and bothersome to have around the house so I gave him to Johnny Young from up Derby. He had a big family of boys and they were happy to have him for a pet. Like I said before he was a friendly dog and he loved kids. Those boys of Johnny's taught him to dive for smelts. The only problem was the bugger liked to roam. He used to swim the river to go see a bitch on the other side up around Chelmsford someplace. Several times he come home scalded. Ya see, people wouldn't want him around their dogs. Now there was an outfitter up there who lived pretty close to Johnny's place. He come here from the states and married a girl from up in that area. He had hunters and fishermen come from all over and he had a beautiful, well bred and well trained hound dog. It was about the only real hound dog around here and he was awful proud of it. So anyway this spring he heard
a dog barking back in the woods. He knew there was a yard of deer back there and he wanted them to hang around for his hnnters to shoot in the fall. He thought sure the big collie was after the deer. And he would too, ya know. He'd tackle anything. He was a bunter and knew how to kill.
Now the outfitter got after a warden by the name of Hubbard to go back and shoot the dog. Hubbard wasn't too pleased to go and shoot a dog that probably belonged to one of his neighbours. He tried to avoid the task by saying he didn't have his snowshoes or gun with him. The outfitter promptly produced a pair of snowshoes and a loaded rifle and kept after poor Hubbard until at last he had to go. He was probably a bit concerned as well that the lad might report him for not doing his job. Anyway, away he went. He was gone for quite a while and then the outfitter and another man who was there with him heard two shots. Bang! Bang! "Ahh", the outfitter said to the other man, "Hubhard's shot the son of a bitch!' They waited for Hubbard to come out of the woods and at last they saw him coming dragging a dead dog by the tail. When he noticed the dead dog was the prized hound dog he jumped and swore something awful. They say his cursing turned the air blue. Boys oh boys, was he upset! He turned on Hubbard and hollered, "Didn't you see that big yellow son of a bitch back there?" With a straight poker face Hubbard replied,"Oh yes, I saw him all right but he was too quick for me. He moved just like a ghost and I couldn't get a bead on him."Then with a wink to the other man standing there Hubbard got into his truck and drove away. They said he was grinning for days.