Becky

My sister called the new dog Rebecca and insisted we all do so as well. It was a stupid name for this ball of fluff that was a part border collie and part ?? We compromised and gave her the name Becky. It turned out that the other part was Doberman and it seemed that she got the best of both breeds rather than the worst. Becky was our faithful companion until the age of 16 when her old body could cope no more.

She had her quirks and personality. Becky particularly loved riding the car; what dog doesn’t? Her favourite position was to be seated on the back seat in the middle, watching the world go by with all the imperious dignity of a royal monarch being chauffeured to her next appointment. Similarly, she would come and sit at the dinner table and watch us eat, knowing that her dinner would be out as soon as we had finished. She never tried to steal or beg; Queen Becky would never do such a thing!

This particular memory was of the time she growled and tried to bite me, something she only ever did once in all the years of her life. We lived in a rural area, each house on two acres and backing onto uncleared forest. I had been working outside mowing the lawn and clearing away branches and other materials after a storm. We had flyscreens on all the doors and windows, but as it was the middle of the day, several doors had been left open to let the breeze in and the cat and dog egress.

As I came back in to get a drink, I noticed that Becky was standing over in the living room corner, in front of floor to ceiling screened louvres growling at the cat trying to get to the corner as well. The cat was hissing and yowling; Becky was growling and yipping. I thought to myself, what in the world is going on!? Though never friends, they usually tolerated each other, and at best, ignored each other’s existence. Why were they at each other now?

I went over there to defuse, and she started growling at me as well. I thought, has this dog gone mad!? She never behaves this way. I said to her, “Becky! Stop that right now!” Her ears dropped, and she looked embarrassed and contrite in the way that only a dog can. Again, I moved towards her, and she growled and tried to nip me! I stepped back, shocked. My first response was to get angry and scold her, but while she had been engaged with me, the cat had flanked her and gotten by.

Becky lunged at the cat, growling and gnashing her jaws. The cat jumped back on its rear legs, ears flat, hissing, and front paws out; claws extended, flailing at her. Though this latest action had taken only seconds to occur, I suddenly understood the set of louvres was the key. The cat wanted to get to it desperately, and they were what Becky was guarding. Why? Then I saw it. A snake, trapped between the shut bottom set and the flyscreen, trying to flee but unable to do so.

Our beautiful girl wasn’t mad; she was protecting us from what she knew was a danger. Even the cat. That dumb old cat that she could hardly stand. I looked at the cat, sitting a short distance away now, tail flicking back and forth, malice in its eyes and thought, well, there is one problem I can deal with. Scooping the angry, squirming beast up, I took it to a bedroom and locked it in. What to do about the snake and Becky! She was not going to leave her guard post, though she did seem relieved the cat was gone!

I took a broom from the laundry and moved up to her; she growled softly but watched me as I pushed the lever for the top set of louvres home, shutting them as well. The snake was now ‘safely’ caught between the louvres and the screen. Somehow, she understood the danger was over too, for as soon as they were shut, she came to me and jumped up, licking my face and whining continuously. I understood then how hard it must have been for her to behave the way she did, all to protect her family. I hugged her and put my head against hers as I sat on the couch, wondering how I would solve this problem! In the end, it was not so hard, though it was a little tense. I locked up the house, with Becky and the cat still inside. She was not happy about that, but I made her stay! Getting my cordless drill, I undid the screws holding the screen to the frame from the top-down, being careful to watch the snake the whole time and to keep the screen firmly against the frame until only one slightly loose screw remained in the bottom left corner. Then ready to run, I let the screen pivot on the screw and fall away from the louvres. The snake made its escape, it turned out to be a Taipan, just over a metre long. One of the deadliest snakes in the world.

I reinstalled the screen and opened the doors and the louvres. Of course, the cat spent quite a lot of time smelling and sniffing everything, but Becky wouldn’t leave my side. Going to the fridge with her food, I took out the biggest bone I could find and said to her, “I think you have earned this treat today, old girl.” Taking the bone, she went out to the grass and laid down to happily munch away, all the while making sure she could still see through the door to the couch where I was seated.

Becky has been gone now for more than twenty years, but I still remember her love, her companionship and her regal beauty as if she could walk through the door right now.