For as
long as he could remember, the littlest puppy had lived under the porch of
an abandoned house with his mother and his brothers and sisters. It was
dark and warm there, and in the afternoon lines of sunshine came in through
the cracks between the boards above them. His mother would go out each day
to hunt for food. When she came back she would tell the puppies about the
big world outside their home.
Mother
told them of big creatures called man that would sometimes be nice and feed
them, and other times would throw things to hurt them. She described cats,
which were great fun to chase, but armed with very sharp claws. She brought
mice and rats for them to eat. After the puppies ate, Mother would teach
them how to hunt for prey. She would tell them of brave deeds done by other
dogs in history. She told them to be proud of being from such a fine family
of dogs.
One day
something strange jumped into their home. Some of the puppies were afraid
of it, even though it wasn’t very big. Great Hunter remembered everything
his mother had taught them. He stalked the creature and pounced on it. He
took it into his mouth and bit it. It crunched between his teeth and tasted
delicious.
When his
mother came home and heard what he had done she was very pleased. That day
his mother named him Great Hunter. She told him he must always remember
that he was a great hunter who had killed his prey. This time it had been a
grasshopper; next time it would be something bigger. His brothers and
sisters teased him because his first hunt had been such a small creature.
His mother told him to pay no attention to them. The important thing was
that he had become a hunter. The first kill was the hardest. He had killed
the grasshopper; the next hunt would be easy.
One day
some people came to their home and captured his mother. She barked at her
babies to hide, but the people began to tear apart the porch that had been
their home. Great Hunter squeezed into the smallest, darkest corner he
could find. He heard the cracking of the wood as the people broke the porch
apart. He heard the yelps when one of his brothers or sisters was caught.
People shouted and dust filled the air.
Great
Hunter stayed very still and very quiet as he hid in his dark corner.
Gradually the noises of breaking wood stopped. He heard the voices of
people and the sudden yelp as one of his sisters was found and captured. He
heard his mother barking at her children to hide, but her bark was far away
and muffled. He also heard the whining of his captured brothers and
sisters. They sounded far away and muffled, too.
Finally
the sound of people talking faded away. Sudden loud rumbling noises made it
impossible for Great Hunter to hear his family. Great Hunter remained
shaking fearfully long after the loud rumblings faded away in the distance.
It was quiet a long time before Great Hunter crawled out of his hiding place
into the bright sunlight.
The porch he had lived under with his family was gone. So was
his family. All that was left were scattered pieces of broken wood. He
searched frantically for his mother and the rest of his family. They were
nowhere to be found. He whined and howled, calling for them. His calls
went unanswered.
He kept
searching what was left of his home, hoping to find a clue where his family
had gone. He also hoped to find some leftover food. There wasn’t even a
scrap of food. And there was no smell trail to lead him to his family.
Great Hunter finally sat down and howled in misery.
Then he
thought about his mother and all the stories she had told him. She had told
him to always remember that he was a great hunter and had already killed
prey. He didn’t feel much like a great hunter now. But his mother said it
was true, so it must be. What would a great hunter do in this situation?
He would hunt for food and a new home, like the brave puppies in the stories
his mother told him.
Great
Hunter sniffed the air carefully in all directions. Suddenly he caught a
whiff of something that smelled tasty. It came from down the street. He
started towards the smell, moving away from his home. He took one sad look
back at the scattered boards that showed where he and his family had been so
happy. He hated to leave. But he was so hungry he had to find food. With
a sad howl, he turned away from his old home and walked away to look for
food.
It
wasn’t far to the wonderful smell. The smell came from a large metal box on
wheels. It was too big for him to climb in. He walked around the box
several times, looking for a way in. Finally he gave up and crawled
underneath the box. The smell of food so close, yet unreachable, made him
feel even hungrier.
Great
Hunter heard a thump of something landing next to the big metal box. He
poked his head out from under the box and saw a strange animal with big
yellow eyes. He thought of his mother’s stories.
“Are you
a cat?” He asked politely.
“Of
course I’m a cat, little puppy. Are you one of the puppies from under the
porch they raided today?” The cat stared at him.
“Yes.
They took my family and I’m all alone and very hungry. Please tell me how
to get into this box to get the food inside?”
“You are
too small to jump into the box, besides it’s dangerous inside. You will
need to get someone to help you.”
Great
Hunter was suddenly hopeful. Maybe this cat would help him and be his
friend. “Can you help me?” he asked eagerly.
“Me help
you? I can’t be saddled with a pesky puppy. But there is a man coming down
the road now. He has been kind to animals in the past, and he has no pet of
his own. If you come out from under that box and act very friendly to him,
he might help you.”
Great
Hunter was hurt at being called a pesky puppy. “I wouldn’t be pesky. I am
a great hunter and I have killed my first prey.”
“That
may be true. But the fact is, I won’t help you, but this man might. So
pull that fat little hunter’s body of yours out from under that garbage box
and start acting cute. The man is almost here.” After saying that, the cat
ran quickly away.
Great
Hunter quickly squirmed out from under the box. He was so afraid the man
would pass the box before he got out that he started whining in excitement
and fear. The man heard him whining and came over to look at him.
“Hello
little puppy, did that big old cat scare you? He’s not likely to hurt you,
but a little thing like you wouldn’t know that.”
The
voice sounded friendly, and remembering the cat’s words that this man could
help, the puppy allowed the man’s huge hands to pick him up. The man turned
him over, looking at every part of him. ‘Act cute’ the cat had said. How
do I act cute? Great Hunter wondered. I can kiss him like I used to kiss my
mother. The thought of his mother made him whine sadly and the man
immediately stopped twisting the puppy and held him close. Great Hunter
started to lick every part of the man within reach.
“Did I
hurt you Puppy? Hey! You are a friendly little thing aren’t you? I’ll bet
you came from the litter that was rescued today by the animal rights group.
They had some nice homes found for that group of puppies. I’ll take you
home and we’ll call them. You are too nice a puppy not to have a good
home.” The man tucked Great Hunter into his arms and started walking. The
puppy didn’t understand the words the man spoke, but the voice and hands
were kind. He snuggled into the man’s arms and watched to see what would
happen next.
The man
took him to a house and gave him a bowl of something he called bread and
milk. Great Hunter had never tasted anything quite like it before, but it
was good and filled his hungry belly. Then the man picked up something and
began talking. He wasn’t talking to Great Hunter. He seemed to be talking
to someone who wasn’t there. After a few minutes the man put the thing in
his hands down and picked up the puppy.
“Well,
puppy. The people who took your family already left town to take them to
their new homes. I don’t have any way to get you to them, and the people
aren’t coming back. So I guess we will have to find you a home somewhere
around here.”
Great Hunter still couldn’t understand the words, but he was
glad the man was talking to him. He licked the man’s face, and curled up
against him to go to sleep. He missed his family, but he was very glad to
be with this man and not alone under that metal box.
When
Great Hunter woke up, it was dark. He was alone in some kind of box. At
first he couldn’t remember where he was. Then he heard the man snoring
nearby, and he remembered everything. He wished he were with his family
instead of alone in this box. He began to whine softly. The man woke up
and spoke gently to him. “It’s okay puppy. Go back to sleep.” The man’s
big hand reached down into the box and gently stroked him. He didn’t
understand the words, but the voice was kind and the hand was gentle. Great
Hunter went back to sleep, and didn’t wake up again until morning.
After
breakfast, the man set out to find Great Hunter a home. He carried the
little puppy in his arms and walked down the street for a long time. Great
Hunter enjoyed the walk. He could look all around. He wanted to get down
and sniff, but the man was walking too fast.
They
came to a pretty white house with a white picket fence. There was a lovely
green lawn and beautiful flowerbeds. The man walked purposely toward the
front door.
“There is
a little girl who lives in this house,” the man said. “I think she would
like a playful puppy with sparkling black eyes. Now you stay here by my
feet and we’ll see how you get along with her.” The man set the puppy down
by his feet and rang the doorbell.
A tall
woman answered the door and began talking to the man. She was so tall, the
puppy felt a little afraid of her. Great Hunter stayed close to the man’s
feet. Suddenly a little girl in a starched blue dress with curly blonde
hair came to the door. The puppy was glad to see someone smaller, and he
bounded joyfully towards the girl to play.
Instead
of petting him, the little girl screamed and grabbed her mother. The scream
scared Great Hunter and he ran back to the man’s feet. The man gently
picked up the puppy and said good-bye to the lady and her daughter.
“Well,
puppy, I didn’t know she was afraid of dogs. We will have to find a better
home for you.” They walked along to another house the man knew of.
The next
house was blue and had a chain-link fence. The lawn wasn’t as big, and
there weren’t many flowers. There were toy trucks and little shovels with
buckets next to interesting looking holes.
“There is
a boy living here,” the man said to the puppy. He is a rough and tumble boy
and would love to run and play with a cute puppy like you.” The man set the
puppy down by his feet and knocked on the door.
The woman
who answered the door this time wasn’t as tall as at the last house, but she
still looked scary to Great Hunter. Suddenly a little boy ran out of the
door. Before Great Hunter had time to move, the boy had raced over and
picked the puppy up by one hind leg. He ran to his mother waving the puppy
in the air, still holding him by the leg.
“Look
Mom. A puppy! Can we keep him? Can we?”
Great
Hunter yelped in terror. He was dizzy from being upside down, and he felt he
was about to fall. He was very happy when he felt the man’s hands around
him, taking him away from that nasty boy.
“I’m
sorry.” The man was saying. “This puppy belongs to someone else. I’m on my
way to deliver him now, and I just stopped by to see if you needed me this
afternoon.”
The woman
assured the man she didn’t need him, and they left. The puppy could still
hear the boy yelling and crying for a long way down the road.
“I guess
I need to find a special home for you, puppy. Scared girls and rough and
tumble boys are definitely out.” Suddenly the man smiled as he got an
idea. “I think I know just the boy for you, puppy. “ They started off in
another direction.
This
time the house was green with white trim. It had a lovely yard and
beautiful flowerbeds. The man did not put the puppy by his feet this time,
but kept holding him. A woman answered the door, but she didn’t look so
scary to Great Hunter from his safe perch in the man’s arms.
“I’ve
brought a friend to visit Paul.” The man said to the woman, holding up the
puppy.
“He’ll
like that.” The woman answered and the man followed her into the house to a
room with a young boy sitting in a chair. The boy excitedly reached for the
puppy and began petting him gently. Great Hunter liked how gently the boy
handled him, and began licking the boy’s face. The boy laughed and gently
played with the puppy on his lap. After a few moments, Great Hunter looked
around the room. The floor looked too far away to jump down, so he sat down
on the boy's lap. Suddenly the chair the boy was sitting in made an odd
sound and the chair moved across the floor. Great Hunter was scared for a
moment, but he sensed the boy wasn’t afraid and the man was still smiling.
So he relaxed and watched as the chair carried them both around the room.
“Look
Mom! Look Mr. Jones! He’s not afraid of my wheelchair. Do you think I
could keep him?”
“Well, I
don’t know. What so you think, Mr. Jones? A puppy is a big responsibility
for a boy in a wheelchair.”
“I
brought the puppy because Paul is in a wheelchair. He is growing up and is
going to start needing help. I’ll come over every week and teach Paul how
to train the puppy. I know it will be hard at first, but lots of crippled
people have dogs to help them. Just like blind people have dogs to see for
them and deaf people have dogs to hear for them. The puppy can start by
picking up things Paul drops. As he gets better trained, he can take
messages to you and back to Paul. Paul can train him to do tricks, too.
“That
would be fun! I’ll bet this is a smart puppy. Mr. Jones knows a lot about
training dogs, don’t you?”
Paul’s mother
smiled. “Well, I wanted to get a trained dog to help Paul. But there
aren’t many and the waiting list is long. Do you really think we can train
him ourselves, Mr. Jones?"
“I do. And I think
training the dog will be good for Paul, too. Right now, the main thing is
to just love the puppy. I’ll bring over a book on puppy training tomorrow, and we
can start right away?”
“Isn’t he too young
to train?” asked Paul.
“Not if we make
training a big game. Of course, we will start with easy things like
teaching him his name and how to come and sit. But I think we can get him
picking up the pencils you drop before too many weeks go by.”
Paul’s
mother gladly gave her permission for Paul to keep Great Hunter.
Of
course, Paul didn’t know dog language, and didn’t know his puppy had been
named Great Hunter. So Paul named his new puppy Radar. And Great Hunter
didn’t know human language, so as he learned to come to the name Radar, he
believed Radar was the human word for Great Hunter.
They were
very happy together.
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