Page 68 of Stockman's Stowaway

‘It wasn’t the owner’s fault; the poor bloke was stuck in hospital. He knew his dog was pregnant but had no clue how many pups there were in the litter. His wife and daughter did manage to find most of the dogs and give them new homes. Butsome of the puppies got away from them. It took the animal rescue group a few weeks to trap them. By then Fern was wary of humans.’

‘How long was she at the shelter?’

‘A month. Fern wouldn’t go near anyone. She’d been deserted once. Why would she go through that again?’ Even today he still felt honoured whenever Fern allowed him to pat her coat, and the smile she gave him as she sat by his leg, always eager to please. Fern was a highly intelligent dog with a strong work ethic, like Atlas. They were the perfect muster dog team.

‘It was you who named her Fern?’

He nodded. ‘Ferns symbolise new life and beginnings.’ And Fern had that with him, as he patted her sleek coat. Then he faced the one female he adored the most. Mia. ‘Now, it’s your turn to name the dogs.’

‘How?’

‘Take the male and walk him around the inner perimeter, let him get used to the boundary. He likes you.’ With Mia following him down to the guardian kennels, the dog chain clanked to the ground, as he clipped the young male onto a lead.

‘What do I do?’

‘Just take him for a walk. I’d like you to do a counterclockwise walk along the boundary fence, keeping the dog on your left so he can sniff out the territory. If he wants to pee, let him. He’s marking his turf, which will be a great deterrent for any dingoes. Go on, you’ve got this.’ He gently pushed Mia’s shoulder.

With their backs to Cap, it looked like a polar bear was being walked by a child. Chuckling to himself, he dragged out his phone to take a sneaky photo of the odd pair. It was going to be a keepsake that would always make him smile.

‘Don’t come back until you’ve given him a name.’ Of course, there was no pressure. He’d noticed Mia preferred operatingtowards a deadline in the conversations they’d shared when they worked together. It never felt like work when he was with Mia.

Leaning his shoulder against the new wall of the kennels, with the female Maremma shifting close enough for him to scratch her behind the ears, he settled in for the show. And Mia was worth the watch.

Twenty-three

The new guardian dog was enormous, and full of fur, like a big off-white sheepdog. Every time he stopped to sniff at the fence, he easily dragged Mia to a stop like a rag doll.

Her boots crunched on dry grasses, gravel and red sand as she followed the fence line, while the dog’s paws were practically soundless.

Their shadows were so distinct, Mia with her wide-brimmed hat beside the dog that looked like a grizzly bear stalking across the red soils. Harper was right, these dogs were big bears.

And she had to name one.

No pressure.

‘What do you want to be called? Rover. Roger. Dog. Wolf. Wolfdog…’ She went through a list of names, looking to the sun for inspiration. It was blinding, but so deliciously warm, she closed her eyes and basked in the glow. It was a glorious dry season day, and here she was walking a dog as if on holidays while the group of twenty plus calves watched them.

Or should she say the dog walked her along the fence line, with his tail wagging, nose down, sniffing at everything, but not responding to any of the names she’d come up with, so far.

‘Grizzly. Polar. Bear. Panda. Pepper. Salt. Ginger…’

Again, the dog lurched to a standstill and peed.

How big was this dog’s bladder?

Then he trotted along to sniff at the ground, and Mia continued with the names. So far, nothing had stuck.

‘Fluffy. Titus. Brutus. Netflix. Sky. Breeze. Spirit. Star…’ It was like she was playing the childhood game of I Spy, but for a dog’s name.

Again, he lurched forward to something new, tugging the lead tight to sniff at a group of wildflowers.

‘Flowers? Wildflowers?’ Did she dare start listing out the plants’ Latin names?

The dog continued with a staggering swagger, nose to the ground, tail wagging.

She followed.

‘Blue? No. I can’t use that one. Cap has a dog called Blue. Cap also has a dog called Diesel, and the brothers called Spanner and Wrench. Do you want me to go through the toolbox to find you a masculine name?’

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