Dexter

Dexter - the best dog in the world

Back in the 1980s when I was about seven years old, my family adopted a dog called Dexter. To me, he was the best dog in the world. He loved being part of our family and he had a very special relationship with my dad.

From the moment Dexter came home with his red kennel, he was family. He was protective towards everyone he knew, but especially my older sisters and me.

I have so many memories of Dexter, but I loved that he would always be there when I got home from school, greeting me with enthusiasm. He was an amazing listener and I fondly remember coming home from school and sitting outside with Dexter, giving him a cuddle as I told him about my day.

While Dexter was well loved by my family, there were many challenges. He was a dog that was raised on a farm and had developed many bad habits. While Dexter sometimes frustrated my dad to no end, he shared with us with his big personality, crazy escapes and unconditional love.

Dexter’s Story

We met Dexter through our neighbour, Clem. Clem’s nephew had Dexter as a farm dog, but as he was moving to the city to an apartment, Dexter couldn’t come with him and the plan was to leave Dexter at a shelter.

Clem could see that Dexter was a wonderful dog and was worried about what would happen if Dexter went to a shelter, especially as he was an older dog. Clem intervened and took Dexter, however, he soon realised that Dexter wasn’t going to work in his home. Dexter would fight with Clem’s dog, Brutus, at any opportunity and Dexter was starting to show some naughty behaviours. Clem, who was retired and slowing down could not keep this active dog.

We had all been over to see Dexter and my sisters took an instant liking to him. When they found out Dexter was looking for a home, they started a campaign on my parents to explain why Dexter was the dog for us and we should adopt him straight away. My sisters argued that as we owned the block of land behind our house, Dexter would have room to run. My sisters promised they would take Dexter for walks and pointed out that he came with his own wooden red kennel to sleep in at night.

My parents had some serious conversations with our neighbour, my sisters and each other. By the end of the week, they decided that after some repairs to the gate and the fence, Dexter would come and live with us and his red kennel with the smelly blanket would go next to the back door.

Dexter’s breed

We were frequently asked “What breed of dog is Dexter?” My mum’s reply: “He’s a black dog!”

Dexter was a bit of a mutt. He must have been part sheep dog, he loved to round up anything. Visitors who came through the back gate would find themselves circled and guided to the back door while he happily barked at them.

Dexter was possibly part Border Collie or Kelpie. He was black with the distinctive white on his chest and a white tip on his tail.

Dexter also showed signs of possible other breads. A purebred he was not!

At the time of writing, I cannot find any photos of Dexter, so I can’t show you what he looked like.

Dexter’s Bad Habits

Dexter was raised on a farm and came to us with some bad habits and quirky behaviours.

One of his worst behaviours was that he was taught to catch small animals. This may have been OK on the farm, but in the suburbs, this was a problem.

We soon learnt that he didn’t like cats, possums or small dogs. Dexter’s instinct was to chase small animals, if he couldn’t get them he would bark and get very upset.

Dexter was a runner, and would often get out and take himself for a walk.

Dexter and my dad were in a constant battle with the fence. Dad would find a hole Dexter had dug under the fence and fix the hole, only for Dexter to dig a new hole the next day.

In our first week of having Dexter, he got out and ended up kilometres away. Some kind people took him in and called the number on his collar.

After this big adventure, Dexter kept his escapes closer to home. If he got out he would come back within an hour.

Dad would check the fence every day, but Dexter would find new and sneaky ways to get out.

Sometimes on Dexter’s adventures, he would find food and bring it home. Usually this was a piece of bread or something small. One day, however, Dexter shocked everyone by bringing home a whole leg of lamb! We have no idea where he got it from or how, the first we knew of it was seeing Dexter coming up the road dragging something in his mouth. Normally Dexter would eat his finds by the back door, but this time he took the leg of lamb right up to the back of the block out of sight. Mum thought he did this because he was guilty or knew it was wrong.

My mum was actually quite embarrassed about the whole situation and told us not to tell anyone.

“How the hell did he find that large piece of meat? I wonder if someone left it outside to thaw and Dexter just took it? I really hope that isn’t someone’s dinner he’s burying up in the block!” Exclaimed mum.

To this day, we have no idea where the leg of lamb came from!

To discourage Dexter from getting out, we would take him for frequent walks and outings. From early morning runs with dad, after school walks to the local reserve and creek, days out to the beach and rides on the old Red Hen trains, Dexter still had the need to get out and explore the neighbourhood by himself.

Food was something Dexter loved. He couldn’t wait for his dinner at night and would devour his food at a speed that concerned my dad. Food really wasn’t safe around Dexter. We learnt to not leave any food or shopping outside without finding Dexter’s curious nose investigating.

Dexter even loved the fruit on the trees and would jump up to pick plums off the plumb tree. If there were no ripe fruit in reach, he would circle the tree sniffing and hoping a bird might knock something down.

If my sisters or I were having a snack or sandwich outside, we quickly learnt to hide it from Dexter’s hungry nose. More than one biscuit and sandwich was sacrificed in this lesson.

Dexter also had a passion for digging, and fortunately we had room for him to dig some good holes. The problem, as mentioned above, was that he was rather keen on digging holes next to the fence so he could escape on his next adventure.

Dexter generally left dad’s veggie patches alone, but one time dad was digging the soil ready for planting, and found a whole french bread stick buried in the ground for safe keeping. Dad asked if anyone had given Dexter a french stick, but none of us knew anything about it. I can only speculate that he had found it on one of his self guided adventures around the neighbourhood.

In summer, Dexter would always dig a wide shallow hole near the back veranda. This was the perfect cool spot for him to lay in on a hot summer’s night and hear the noises from inside the house. After cultivating the back lawn all year, dad was not impressed with this hole that got nice and muddy every time the back lawn was watered.

Our Relationships with Dexter

I believe Dexter enjoyed being a part of our family, and he gave us so much in affection, laughs and stories.

Dexter loved being around people and would get excited when anyone came home. He would circle around them and make noises we would call his talking sounds. it was as if he was really trying to talk to us.

He was gentle with my sisters, our friends and me. He instinctively knew we were smaller humans and not to jump or run around us. One of my friends did not like dogs, but after a few visits to my house decided Dexter was an exception. Her mum was surprised to pick her up one day and find her hugging Dexter.

Strangers to the house were treated to a very serious Dexter who would round them up with a low bark. After a few visits, Dexter realised they were friends. He would still round visitors up but give them happy barks or talking noises.

Dexter really loved my dad and would follow him around whenever he was in the back garden. Dexter knew he wasn’t allowed in the shed, but would sit next to the shed door and patiently wait for dad to come out again. Dexter seemed to be at his happiest being next to dad and enjoying his company.

A year or two after being with us, Dexter’s old owners dropped by to see our neighbour and came to see Dexter too. Dexter was sitting under the tree a short way from the back fence. When his old owner called out to him, Dexter completely ignored him and pretended no one was there. His old owner left with a comment about old dogs going deaf. Dad witnessed this exchange and worried Dexter wasn’t well. He quietly said “what’s wrong Decky?” to which Dexter jumped up and walked to his side. I think he had chosen the family he wanted to stay with.

Dexter had many happy, adventurous and naughty years with us. As he got older, his hearing became progressively worse. By 14 years old, he had become an old dog and was slowing down. In his last weeks of life he developed terrible problems with his balance and direction. He would walk into things and stopped eating. Dexter became confused and unhappy.

The advice from the vet was that he was not likely to recover. Dexter had had a good life with us, but it was now time to let him go and stop him from having any more pain.

My last memory with Dexter is of sitting on the back doormat hugging him and crying before my parents took him to the vet to be put down. We all felt a huge loss without our Dexter in the backyard.

Dexter was not a carefully planned addition to our family, but rather the dog that needed a home. Dexter became a real part of our family sharing his loving, beautiful and naughty personality with us. And I hope that our family gave Dexter a great second part of his life filled with love, adventures and, of course, lots of food!

My family never got another dog, but we still share our memories and funny stories about Dexter, the best dog in the world.

*Photos used in this story are provided by Upsplash and are not actual pictures of my dog.