Life around here has gone a little bit crazy of late. It wasn't always like this. I remember how it used to be, back in the days when I was a boy. Life was simple then.
For most of my formative years it was just dad and I, then later Krofti. We all ran together, rig raced together and slept together. We used to go running with human pack leader and sometimes we even ran with Brego the horse as well - that was fun! We did everything together, never a cross word, between us. Dad took care of Krofti and I, and with human pack leader's help, we led a very content and comfortable life.
Then we moved into a house with a garden that wasn't big enough for Brego and he went to live somewhere else. We only lived in that house for a short while and then we moved into this fantastic house with a huge garden and lots of creatures to hunt.
Kez joined us soon after, round about the time that dad stopped coming on long runs with us. He got tired easily and seemed to prefer to sleep at home, waiting for us to return.
Kez was a funny little chap when he first moved in. He was scared of Krofti and didn't really want to play with me. Dad kept a watchful eye over him, but didn't interact much with him. Kez seemed to be fascinated with human pack leader and would follow her everywhere. When she went to work he would get really upset and sometimes he made terrible messes of things that were laying around – between you and I, those things should really have been tidied up, so not really Kez's fault. One time someone put the wrong address on a package and it was delivered to our house by mistake, Kez chewed all the CDs into tiny little pieces - took the humans quite a while to work out what the package was.....
Kez did make a brilliant running partner for me. At first he was a little pig headed and had to be persuaded that I knew best. I was a lead dog from the age of nine months so I did know what I was doing. He did eventually learn and was soon a fabulous training partner for me and for the human pack leader. Kez and I started doing a lot more longer and faster runs together, whilst Krofti and dad kept guard at home (they were actually sleeping but don't tell anyone that).
Kez used to got really nervous around other dogs and several tried to attack him. Human pack leader was also very nervous around other runners and so she decided to start taking us to local parkrun events where we could run amongst other people, as quickly as possible for a short while. Truth be know, we all preferred much longer distances, but it was good experience for us all and we did enjoy them.
We used to run for hours and hours together, sometimes dad and Krofti joining us on the slower and shorter runs.
Then dad stopped wanting to come on most runs, and looked sad all the time. We went up to Scotland one winter to play in the snow, and we came back without dad.
I had never known life without dad beside me, he used to protect me when I was scared and the only time I ever saw him cross was when a massive malamute dog attacked me and dad tried to get him off me. It took both him and human pack leader to stop the dog hurting us all. She was really brave and wrapped herself around the dog and pulled him off dad when the dog turned on him.
Overnight, my life and our little pack's life changed. Human pack leader's first language is English, then dog, sometimes she doesn't understand us and why we do things. Dad did and always knew what to do. If we were being naughty he would just glare at us or quietly growl, or sometimes he would even raise his paw and smack Kez and Krofti if they were getting a bit too boisterous. I don't think it hurt, it just made them stop and think.
Not long after dad left us, I started loosing interest in running really long distances with Kez. My heart was not in it any more, and Kez no longer needed my guidance, he was rapidly becoming a brilliant endurance athlete with an amazing relationship with human pack leader. They started doing longer runs together and looked so happy when they came back. I didn't mind as I still got to run every day, and at whatever pace I wanted to.
As I started enjoying the more sedentary life, another human joined the pack and he was a runner too. He likes to run on tarmac, which our paws don't like much of, so he runs on his own while human pack leader runs with us.
Now this is where it starts getting really weird, another dog suddenly appeared and he was nothing like Kroft and Kez were like as puppies. He was a lot older than they had been when they arrived, he smelled funny and his little face was so sad looking. He crept around the house, not wanting to go anywhere near human pack leader or her mate. If they looked at him he would drop to the ground as if he had been shot. He gulped his food down so quickly that it gave him terrible wind and he had no manners.
He had weird ways of doing stuff, like laying on his back playing with his own paws. But for some reason he absolutely adored Kez and would follow him around everywhere. Human pack leader was trying really hard to make friends with this puppy (whom they named Kobi), Kez helped both of them by allowing Kobi to shadow him every time he went to human pack leader for cuddles.
Kobi settled in with the dog pack very quickly, but not the human pack. He used to tell us all about the bad things that happened to him in the places where he used to live. I felt really sorry for him and on occasions I even let him share my food.
Kobi started running with Kez in little races and as his confidence grew, he started getting really competitive. He would even challenge the human runners to a race, shouting at them, which is something I personally take exception to. We were always taught as youngsters to be calm and quiet on the start line of a race, other dogs were not always polite and would sometimes act completely out of control – this upset both Kez and I as it is rude and bad manners to shout and swear at others. I think human pack leader finds it hard to get him to calm down and then she gets all stressed too. Kobi pretended that it was “just enthusiasm”....
Anyway, some time in between, another puppy came to live with us. This time he looked like Kez and Krofti had and smelled like them too. But the best bit is that he reminded me so much of dad. As time has passed he has grown more like dad, the way he acts, his attitude to life and his bond with human pack leader. I think his name is Kree, but I hear him referred to as superbrat,so maybe he has two names. He teases me a lot, tries to play “I am bigger than you” games, but I don't really take him seriously. He is never grumpy or bad tempered, just a little too boisterous... most of the time!
Kobi started spending a lot of time with superbrat, playing for hours. Sometimes it would get a bit unruly and Kez would stand between Kobi and Kree – forever the wannabe peacemaker. Kez used to also do this when Kobi annoyed Krofti a little too much. I think Kez learned this from dad, but not all the other stuff dad used to do.
Kobi then started acting funny around Kez. He would start circling him, grumbling and walking very stiffly. Kez didn't like it and would get really tense and start telling really bad jokes. When the bad jokes didn't work it started using very particular language to try and get Kobi to stop. Krofti and I used to joke about the fact that he used big words that a street kid wouldn't understand. I think this upset Kobi and made him even grumpier towards Kez.
Then Kobi started really losing the plot. He decided that he wanted human pack leader all to himself. He has never trusted another human his whole life and suddenly he became fearful that his relationship with human pack leader was in jeopardy because of Kez. Every time Kez went to her, he would try and intercept, get in the way and take all the attention for himself. Kez didn't like this and knew it was not what human pack leader wanted.
I am not sure exactly what happened last week. My hearing has now failed me and my memory is not always what it used to be. Whatever started it, the outcome was one of the most scary things I have ever known...
Kobi attacked Kez with his teeth. He completely went beserk and wouldn't stop. Three times he did it, each time Kez tried to run away he chased him and continued hurting him. There was water and mud and blood every where. I didn't know what to do and just hoped that the humans would return soon. Kobi had a really weird look on his face and he didn't look like a Siberian Husky any more – we always wondered if there was more to his ancestry than he told us. Maybe his mum had an affair or something like that.
The humans did return. They looked really upset and confused. Then they cleaned everything up and tried to calm Kez. He was completely beside himself and petrified of Kobi. He wouldn't go near any of the areas where Kobi pounced on him, shook with fear if Kobi even looked at him.
Since then Kez has spent a lot of time upstairs, refusing to stay unattended with Kobi. He has become more tolerant of being near him, but still tenses up and says he doesn't ever want to be friends with him again.
Through all of this, superbrat has been a little star. He went back and forth between Kobi and Kez, asking them if they were ok. He then decided that Kez needed company and snuggled up as closely to him as possible, licking his wounds every now and again.
Kobi went away for a day this week, and when he came back he smelled differently. He looked really sleepy and had a big plaster near where his boy bits are.
Superbrat told me not to worry, it would all be ok soon. He told me that he had a special dream one night and in this dream a big grey dog came up to him and told him that it was nearly his time. The dog told superbrat that the pack had been looking for a very special dog for a very long time, and this very special dog was him. He needed to start growing up and becoming responsible for a great many things. He told him that he did not have to fear it as the humans would help him, it would take time, but when it was done, the pack would once more be harmonious again.
I don't think superbrat quite understood his dream, but I did. Superbrat described the dog in great detail and there is only one dog that it could have been. It was dad. Dad wants Kree to be just like he was when he lived with us.
Dad also had another name, it was Kai. In many cultures the name Kai has several meanings: strong and unbreakable and love being two prominent ones, along with references to King and Emperor..... That was dad through and through, full of love, very strong, unbreakable and ruler of his pack. I know what the dream means, superbrat will one day soon also understand....
