Page 67 of Stockman's Stowaway

‘I see. How often does this happen?’

‘My friend gets a new Maremma a month from city shelters. Sometimes she’ll drive across the country to rescue them. The usual return age is about eight months, when the owners struggle with that cute puppy, that suddenly weighs thirty kilos and is still growing. They eat like horses, and struggle to live in small backyards, and they can easily push over young children they’re trying to herd. Imagine having one of these in the house.’

‘It’d swallow up Bree’s couch.’

He chuckled as he unrolled the mesh across the kennel’s frame while in the shade of its simple roof.

‘Do they have names?’ Mia tenderly stroked the male dog’s nose.

‘You can pick one.’

Her head swivelled so fast to face him with wide eyes. ‘What?’

The attention made his heart slam into his chest. He had to look away from her too-bright, all-seeing gaze, to pluck the wire cutters from the toolbox. But when he raised his eyes, her ready gaze locked onto his, as if waiting for a response. ‘I think you should pick a name for the new dogs.’

‘Don’t they have names already?’

He shrugged. ‘Probably. But as they’re in their permanent home now, you get to give them a new name.’ Hopefully it would give Mia that feeling of being more connected to this place, because he wanted her to stay.

‘You didn’t give Willow a new name.’ Mia pointed to the parked Tojo where the dogs were lying beneath it, keeping their packs separated to give the new guardian dogs space.

‘Willow is not my dog.’ He winked at Mia, who playfully rolled her pretty eyes. ‘So, pick a name.’ He finished clasping the mesh to the kennel’s outer frame, tested the new doors, checked the water in the troughs they’d share with the calves, and left the door open. He wasn’t ready to lock them up, not while the sun was still shining.

‘I’ve never named a dog. What do you do?’

‘I usually go through a list of names to see which one they answer to. But I have been known to change their names based on their personality traits later on.’

‘So why did you pick Atlas?’

Cap turned to grin at his red cattle dog, the proud alpha flicking his ears at full attention. ‘For his endurance.’

‘As a cattle dog?’

‘And his will to survive. I found him on a track as a young pup. His paws were so worn down he must have been travelling for miles mapping out the territory. Even now, Atlas is a marathon running kind of dog. On a muster, Atlas will outlast the other dogs with his stamina.’

‘Was Atlas dumped?’

‘I think an eagle took him from his pack. It happens more than people realise when they let the puppies play on their lawns. When I found Atlas he had claw marks across his back. And you’ve seen how big those carrion birds are.’

‘They wouldn’t dare go near Atlas now.’ She pointed to the large cattle dog, who was not only loyal but fearless.

‘No. Atlas chases them away.’

‘What about Fern? Did you find her in a group of ferns in a damp woodland?’

‘No.’ He dumped his tools back into the box and snapped the lid shut. Collecting up the wire roll, he carried it back to the Tojo. Atlas thumped his tail to greet him and he gave him a pat.

‘Fern…’ She came towards him, and he patted both intelligent dogs.

‘What is Fern’s story?’ Mia followed him, as he refilled their water bottles from the cooler resting on the back of the ute and handed one to Mia.

‘Fern came to me via an animal shelter in Queensland. She was part of a working dog’s litter of six pups on a small cattle station.’ He looked over the landscape that surrounded him. A large newly fenced paddock that contained the future herd on his family’s cattle station. It was a dream come true.

‘But?’

‘Unfortunately, the station fell on hard times—from drought, mounting debts and dwindling resources. The owner had a stroke just before the pups were born, and he was sent to Brisbane for emergency care. He was there for a while, with his wife and daughter with him. Sadly, his daughter had no choice but to sell the property and move her parents into the city where her father could receive medical treatment. Unfortunately, during the move and the sale, some of the pups were abandoned.’

‘How could the owner do that?’ Her voice was loaded with protectiveness. Willow trotted over to lean against Mia’s leg for a soothing pat.

---