M - Maltese. Mongrel/Mutt, Matriarch
I always knew what this post would be about. It just had to about Gem, the black Labrador Mutt, in the gang of four that appeared in yesterday's post.
However just so that you don't think I'm biased I'll include a picture of a breed of dog that I have never seen. She is a toy dog; one of those descended from dogs originating in the Central Mediterranean area.
 |
| "Vairette", a Maltese at a Championship in Birmingham (By Sannse , 29 August 2003, CC BY-SA 3.0) |
But in the "Gang of Four" the two Golden Labradors were the original "Dogs of Troy" and with pedigrees felt they were above such lowly beings as 'mutts.' I let them tell you the story of how Gem changed their minds.
"We had just got our new home sussed
when one fateful day we ran out of food. We were left on our own while the mad
English woman and the man that also feeds us went out in their car – we thought
to buy some more. Then shock and awe, (a phrase we used way before George Bush
had heard of it), they came back from the pet store with more than a supply of
food.
With them was a small black bundle
of fur with legs at each corner. Now we had to share our home with Gem, a six-week
old puppy which had been left at the rescue centre in the store. We were not
too sure what we should do. After all, we were upmarket pedigree dogs
while Gem was just a black lab mutt and a refugee.
 |
| Gem, the mutt |
We soon learnt as Gem grew bigger
that she was smarter than she looked – how could such a young pup have become
so ‘streetwise’ at such young an age? Nevertheless we had to teach her not to
gnaw things that did not belong to her and not to pee on the kitchen floor.
Outside she was such a little thing that the English woman with long legs had
to bend right down to stroke and make a fuss of her.
 |
| Gem gets some attention |
We were more considerate
as by this time we were tall enough to be stroked without anyone having to bend
down and anyway we had learnt how to climb and sit on the furniture – how we
liked the settee and the soft chairs. Mind you all three of us had to sleep in
the garage with two cars.
Her fur different to ours and
when it grew long and it was a hot summer she was taken back to the pet store
to have it clipped. She hated it! The first time she went she really showed
what she thought of the indignity because when the mad English woman went to
collect her she rushed out of the store and across the road and climbed into
the front seat of the first car she saw with an open door. You must have
thought she was going to be left behind. We can imagine what the car driver
thought on being attacked by a black projectile as Gem hurtled in. The mad
English woman had to rescue her and apologise on Gem’s behalf. Gem now is
calmer when she’s sheared – but she doesn’t have to like it.
Houdini would have been a better
name for Gem. It wasn’t long before she perfected ways of escaping from our
corral. She could always find that loose bit of wire under which she could
squeeze even if she had to dig a hole first. Before she was big enough to jump
the fence she perfected a technique of climbing it, balancing on the top prior
to making yet another break. Many times when those that feed us came home she
would be sitting outside the fence and they never knew how she had got there.
 |
| Gem in 2013 |
Years later Gem became the star at
an Olympics for disabled children in Michigan, despite the fact that she had
had no training for this. She just loves being the centre of attention and
being fondled. The fact that she was allowed to lick their faces made her day.
Incidentally we should explain that
the three of us don’t really think our English woman is mad. It’s just that
other humans think she and her husband must be mad to keep three dogs. We can
imagine what they thought when, a year after Gem joined us, and three dogs at
Deer Trail became four with the addition of a chocolate brown Labrador called
Jack. With his arrival the pack, known as "The Gang of Four" was complete."
 |
| Gem, the Matriarch |
Not bad for just a mutt!
(Depending on the source a mongrel or mutt is defined as|:
- A dog of no definable type or breed.
- A dog not the result of breeding and belonging to no breed.
Gem would feel insulted!)
When it comes to dogs I meet in the village one of the most nervous dogs I met could also be classed as a mutt although there's a lot of the Border Collie in her.
 |
| Skye |
When I was walking behind her she looked back, nearly every step, apparently worried at my presence. It took a long time, almost a year, for her to get over this. Now I'm pleased to say she comes to meet me and waits to be stoked before barking quietly to show her pleasure.
