This book is dedicated to all the animals that died during WW1 and WW2. All the animals who helped our troops on the battlefield, sacrificing their lives to save ours.
As I lay in no man's land, tangled up in barbed wire and caked in mud, the gunfire and bombs crashing and exploding around me. my attempts to move or get up just cause me pain, so I just lay there, thinking, contemplating my life, wondering; How did I get here? what turn of events lead me to this? Does man's god really want me to die on this bloody battlefield. Maybe he just wants to reunite me with my family.
How did I get here? ...Well it all started when I was just a pup. I was the runt from a 5 pup litter, although I wasn't even that small. Me and my siblings were Australian and German Shepard crossbreeds.
My mother is a German Shepard, all original colours of her breed. My father was an Australian Shepard, shot by hunters one morning while out getting food for my heavily pregnant mother. My colours are very differant compaired to my family's colours; All over I am a deep shade of umber, with white speckles all over my body, I also have an auburn coloured stripe down my muzzle, stretching back up to my ears. My eyes are a brilliant olive green, well my mother always said my eyes were brilliant anyway, her man reason for that was because; I was the only pup in her litter with olive eyes. I had three brothers and one sister, all of which were traditional German Shepard colours. My family were strays, never ever homebound in anyway.
My puppyhood home was a small den, made from mud and sticks, deep under an old fern tree, the entrance to the den sat at the base of the tree. the mass of the den only reached about one whole meter but it was still home. Everything was fine...until the haters found the den, My mother tried her best to get everyone out, she really did. I really should've been there to try and save my mother, but of course I had to wander off and chase bugs or butterflies, I can't quite recall what I was chasing at the time. But that didn't matter.
All I knew was that when I came back to the den, I found my mother and siblings slaughtered, their remains scattered around the woodland floor. Thats when I just ran, as fast as my little legs could carry me, at this moment I had convinced myself that could hear loud barking and growling behind me, like a larger dog or a wolf was chasing me.
I soon tired myself out, collapsing as my little legs gave out. I laid there then, pretty much how I'm laying now, still, weak, unable to catch my breath. Anyway...back to my story. The sky got dark, i laid still, my ears perking up at every little sound I heard, whimpering and crying. Something must have heard me though, cause an orange dog-like thing, slowly crept out of the woods, carefully stepping towards me.
I backed up into myself, curled up into a little ball. the orange dog (I now understand to have been a Fox) sniffed at me, nudging my head gently with its muzzle. I hesitantly lifted my head, looking up at the fox, we both sniffed around each other.
The fox stood back, glancing around. It then leaned down, picking me up by the scruff of the neck. I whined and wriggled, in response the fox made a high pitched squealing sound. I went quiet and just let the fox carry me away, I was so tired that I just fell asleep while being carried. when I awoke, I was curled up within a litter of more foxes. Now I realise why the fox saved me from the dangers of the woods, she still had her maternal instincts.
Had it not been convenient that she just happened to have her own pups, and recognised the smell of a pup, she probably would have killed me on the spot. As I grew up, now 2 years old. I was pretty big now compaired to my adoptive family, however it did come in handy whenever the humans decided to commence their annual fox hunt.
Those hunting dogs never stood a chance against me, I was way too strong for them, even though they had been specially trained to kill foxes..they hadn't been trained to kill other dogs, so they were always hesitant before starting a rumble with me. It soon came that time in the late autumn for the fox hunt, I prepared myself for battle, running up to roof of the den (which was on the side of a tree stump), keeping watch for the horses and dogs. After about an hour or so, I spotted five men with nets and a massive chunk of raw meat, I knew this because I could smell it.
The men started spreading the nets out, walking towards the den with it, I stood up and tried to give my best warning growl. Once I thought they'd gotten close enough, I launched myself at one of the humans, only to land right into the net, I struggled for a while until the man holding the chunk of meat threw it into the net with me.
Of course I was starving, so I started to tear bits of meat off, gulping it down within seconds. I soon noticed that I had some sort of leather ring around my neck, I pulled back, trying to get loose, but it was no use, the humans were..too strong? but that couldn't have been right, humans are so scrawny and weak, aren't they.
When I think back to that life changing moment...it's my fault really, that I'm here right now. If I hadn't wanted to attack those humans, I wouldn't really be in this mess. but then again everything happens for a reason in this world.
Anyway.
The humans walked- no dragged me back to their habitat, a large wooden den surrounded by stone dens. This must be the farm my mother used to talk about, the same one she used to steal chickens from; in order to feed me and my siblings. As we entered the farm, I was taken aside and pushed into a nearby barn. the leather rope round my neck was removed and as soon as I had all this unwanted attention, I was alone.
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Lest I forget - A dog's life in the war
ActionAs Chep lays dying in No man's land, he tells the story of his life