Wendy Neville
I like to consider myself a writer, but my full time teaching and parenting job ensures that this illusion remains a happy hobby and is kept to a bare minimum; though one day I will publish the story of "The King of the Winter River", for it tells of a time in the life of our family when a magnificent young Rottweiler named Apollo, joined us and made each day we spent together rich. Seven unforgettable years.
We were two parents of 32 with two sons of 10 and 11 and we had just said a sad farewell to our dear "China" and I had said "NO more ... its too heart breaking when they go." but Apollo selected us in a round about sort of way.
His human parents had Apollo, his sister and his mum as their "family" then they discovered a little human was on the way. They had heard we were reasonable as humans go and knowing we had recently buried our Golden Labrador they rang and asked would we like to give a home to their male Rotty ... but they would call back in six weeks and check his progress and ensure he was content with us.
We loved him instantly. He was reserved at first and extremely well behaved but he realised immediately that it was he, who would be looking after us rather than the reverse, and that it was going to be a full time job but he could rise to meet the challenge of this busy and quite dysfunctional lot. He liked us instantly too and decided, I'm certain, to convince his first parents that we were "O.K."
Apollo was two, incredibly intelligent, perfect weight, powerful, gentle, playful, serious, with balanced colouring, an easy lope, amazingly expressive eyes that followed you -minding you and ..... he had a tail !
"A Rotty with a tail!" people would say and he'd wag it all the more.
That Summer we took Apollo to the beach where he discovered swimming and salt water. He loved the feel but not the taste and so when introduced to the clear freshthrill of the rapids and deep pools of our Tantawanglo River he revelled in it and it became his favourite place. He waded, dived and swam, looking for all the world like a seal with his tail streaming out behind - a rudder. He'd hold his breath while furiously digging beneath the surface in the glittering sand and then, in a huge blow of bubbles he'd come up grinning- no treasure just the pleasure of being!!.
That's what our Rottweiler with a tail taught us and how he won our hearts.
