From the window Caron watched her one-year-old, white German Shepherd. She wondered if dogs could think or if they had feelings.
“Mom,” questioned ten-year-old Caron, “have you noticed how Cheino runs away from Dad? He seems afraid of men. Have you noticed the scars on his feet and his face? I wonder what happened to him before I bought him?”
“Yes, Caron,” replied her mother. “I have noticed. Do you remember last week when we went to pick up Cheino?”
“Oh, I remember it well,” answered Caron. “Cheino lived with a real nice lady on a big farm.”
“That’s right,” said her mother sadly. “The lady was very nice and she wanted to keep Cheino to play with her son, but she said that her husband didn’t like the dog. She said that it was best for Cheino to go where he would be loved. I’m afraid that Cheino was mistreated when he was a puppy and that it will take a long time for him to trust any man again. But if any man can gain Cheino’s trust and love, it will be your father.”
“I hope so. I don’t like to see my dog so afraid,” said Caron sympathetically. “Is it all right if I take David and Trena outside to play?”
“Sure, but keep them away from the chickens. I don’t want your little brother and sister hurt.”
As time went by and the children were playing, Caron forgot her mother’s warning. All of a sudden she heard the chickens squawking. She looked up, surprised to see four-year-old David chasing a chicken. She was amazed and proud to see that Cheino was carefully circling her brother and leading him back to safer territory.
“All right!” shouted Caron with a grin. “I bought myself a super dog.”
At that moment, Caron’s dad, Mr. Sprague, came home. Caron yelled, “Dad, hurry! Come see Cheino take care of David.”
But Cheino, having already protected David, chased the chickens farther way, which also put him farther away from the man.
“Dad,” said Caron, “call him. See if he will come to you.”
“I’ll try, but remember, Dear, we have had Cheino only a week. We will have to give him a lot more time before he will trust me.”
“Here Cheino, come here, boy, “ coaxed Mr. Sprague kindly.
Cheino stood there and looked at the man who wanted him to be his friend.
“Well, Caron, at least he didn’t run away, “ said her dad thoughtfully. “I wish that I could erase his past, but I can’t; so I’ll try to help him forget. It’s time for supper. Let’s go in and eat.”
As they sat around the table, Mrs. Sprague said, “I think tonight is the night for Antelope to have her babies. I think the poor goat is going to have a tough time. I want to be around when she delivers.”
“That is a good idea, Honey,” remarked her husband. “Your goats have been having twins and triplets. If Antelope has triplets, they may not survive. We’ll check on her before we go to bed.”
That night, just before bedtime, Mr. and Mrs. Sprague walked out to the barn to check on Antelope. All was well and the nanny was contentedly chewing on her hay.
“She looks fine, Dear,” said Mr. Sprague. “Let’s go to bed.”
But Mrs. Sprague was awakened at two a.m. by a scratching at the door.
“Honey, wake up. There is someone here.”
Together they went to the door. There stood Cheino looking toward the barn where they heard the bleating of the goat.
“Oh, no!” cried Mrs. Sprague. “It must be Antelope.”
They ran toward the barn. There lay Antelope in pain. Beside her lay one baby, but there would be more. An hour later Antelope had three kids. One was a runt.
“Guess we will have to bottle-feed that one,” chuckled Mr. Sprague. “The children will have a great time taking care of him. But now let’s go back to bed. Morning will be here soon.”
The next morning, Mrs. Sprague went out to see her goats. The runt wasn’t doing very well, so she put him in a box and brought him into the house.
“Mommy,” said five-year-old Trena, “May I feed Kiddo? He looks hungry.”
“Kiddo! Where did you come up with that name?” asked her mom, laughingly.
“You told me that a baby goat is called a kid. This one is so small, I thought he must be a kiddo.”
I guess our goat has a name,” said Mrs. Sprague. “Yes, you may feed Kiddo, Trena. Caron, will you let Cheino in the house? He is scratching on the door.”
Caron opened the door. “Come in Cheino, but why would you want in on this beautiful day?”
For an answer, Cheino walked over to the crying goat and began licking and nudging him with his nose.
“Look, Mom, “ said Caron. “My boy dog is acting like a mother.”
Cheino continued to mother Kiddo while Trena bottle-fed the goat. Between the two of them the baby was soon sleeping.
“Oh, Mom!“ cried Caron. “Isn’t Cheino the kindest dog you have ever seen?”
“Yes, Dear,” replied her mother thoughtfully. “I think we can learn from Cheino. He came to the house last night to get us, even though he is afraid of your dad. Today he has spent his time trying to make Kiddo happy. Cheino is a very kind and unselfish dog.”
“Daddy is home!” shouted David. “Let’s tell Daddy.”
As soon as Mr. Sprague entered the house, Cheino whined to be let out the back door. As Caron let him out, she wondered if he would ever trust her father.
Everyday Mr. Sprague tried to play with Cheino. At first Cheino stayed far away, but gradually he gained the trust he needed.
One bright day in May, Mr. Sprague got his hammer and nails and went to fix the door on the barn. He was working when the nail slipped and the hammer hit his thumb.
“Ouch! He yelled. “Oh that hurts, ouch!”
Mrs. Sprague and the children ran out to help. They stopped, pleased to see that once again Cheino was doing the mothering.
“Mom! Cried Caron. “Cheino is licking Dad’s hand.”
“Yes, I see,” said Mrs. Sprague smiling. “Cheino now loves and trusts your father.
(This story was written in 1991. Cheino was a real dog that did love and care for the other animals. He was very much afraid of my dad when we first got him, but eventually Cheino became my dad's loyal dog.)
