My father bought a dog licence every year.
That always struck most of us as odd..Considering.
It cost half a crown. Printed on crinkly white paper like
an old fiver.. The description of the dog was entered as
鈥榖lack and white fox terrier鈥.
鈥淏ut Da, Butch isn鈥檛 a real fox terrier.鈥
Details.
He was nearly.
Butch was a smooth haired fox terrier, or would have been
if his mother hadn鈥檛 鈥榞ot out鈥 and 鈥榞ot
caught鈥 for which she would have probably been 鈥榙estroyed鈥,
not only for breaking her owner鈥檚 heart but it was
a well know fact that she would never again produce pedigree
pups. She could never go back.
There was a lesson there for us all..
Before Butch the dog there was Prince. Prince the dog was
named after a character in a movie I鈥檇 seen. A few
weeks later there was a man with a performing dog on at
the Park Picture House. The dog was called Viscount. I wanted
to change Prince鈥檚 name to Viscount, but my father
said no, it would confuse him, and anyway a Prince was higher
than a Viscount. Only my Da would have known that
Prince was a very handsome, slim, nervous, black collie,
We got him from the dog鈥檚 home in Montgomery Street.
But collies weren鈥檛 favourites, too timid, too scared,
didn鈥檛 have the aggression to last long on the streets.
Calling somebody a collie was a term of abuse.
But we took him because he looked so handsome.
And 鈥 indeed - he didn鈥檛 last long.
He was run over by a car 鈥 a pretty unique event back
then.
The driver got out - probably just to check any damage
to his vehicle. It was a mistake. He was immediately surrounded
by a loud and mischievous crowd. That鈥檚 the O鈥橦are鈥檚
dog鈥 someone said 鈥 鈥 away and get Big
John.鈥
My father glanced at the dog .
鈥楬is back鈥檚 broke鈥.
鈥榃ell then there鈥檚 nothing we can do is there?鈥
the car owner blustered,
looking for support among the crowd. No chance.
鈥淲hereabouts are you from mister, not from round here鈥
somebody said.
The man鈥檚 face drained, his hands were shaking, but
he continued to try to assert his authority, the authority
of a car owner.
My father, still in his vest, asserting the authority of
the big man, got into the back of the car, with the dog
across his knees.
鈥淲e鈥檒l take him to the vets " he said,.
"Put him out of his misery."
"Have you got a dog licence?" the man squawked
in alarm, stunned by the audacity, the invasion of his vehicle,
the assault on his upholstery. The crowd gasped at the pig
headedness of the man, he seemed simply not programmed to
think or act defensively.
"Yes", said my father ".....do you want to
see it?"
Oh say no mister, please say no.
Finally he got into the car, to the whistles and jeers.
And that was the end of Prince.
Butch the dog was a Christmas present.
My father was sent out at 10.00 clock on the morning of
Christmas Eve to buy a pup from Cecil Creighton鈥檚
Pet Shop in Gresham Street.
He came back in the early hours of Christmas morning.
I was still waiting up, even though it was so cold out of
bed .
My father slumped down on the sofa into that voluminous
Donegal tweed great coat of his, the colour and smell of
tobacco.
I waited.
Slowly, with those fumbling, over elaborate movement of
a man who鈥檚 had a skinful, from an inside pocket he
dragged out a black and white pup. It squirmed and whimpered
and tried to get back home. The attachment was to be life
long.
Years later, Butch would sit on the bedside chair, at my
Ma鈥檚 back, as she kept watch all those long days and
nights. One time, while she was downstairs making a cup
of tea there was a terrible cry, a wild animal in pain,
howling its loss to the skies.
The neighbours heard it too.
Streets away.
鈥楾hat鈥檚 the O鈥橦are鈥檚 dog. Must be
Big John. Ah well, God rest him. A happy release.鈥
