When I joined the family, Bruce was already part of the household. He was a rich brown in colour and not a young dog. I would say, by the look of him, he was a mixture of Rhodesian Ridgeback, Boxer and Boerbul. We liked the look of each other at first meeting. Bruce was one of the most special dogs that I was to meet in my life.
Bruce adopted my parents-in law – he arrived on their doorstep one day and decided to stay. He adored my father-in-law, always making a big fuss when dad came home from work. Bruce pushed dad into the nearest chair to investigate him from top to toe. These were not the usual sniffs of a dog to find out where one had been, but to find out if dad had any new open sores on him. Dad was a mechanic and often came home with nicks or grazes incurred at work – Bruce would lick these until HE was satisfied that they were clean; dad was then allowed to go about the rest of his evening.
Dad was highly allergic to bee-stings and somehow Bruce sensed this. Whenever a bee would fly into the house, this dog would do his damnedest to catch, and kill, the insect. Many times Bruce could be seen with a swollen mouth due to being stung for his efforts. I remember one almost catastrophic day. My parents-in-law were in the front seat of their old Ford Falcon, Bruce and I were in the back. Suddenly a bee flew in the open front window. Bruce leaped over the back of the front-seat in an effort to reach the bee before it reached dad. Gosh! That almost ended in an accident before Bruce could be pulled back and subdued.
Bruce loved the police uniform – Anyone wearing an SAP uniform was allowed on the premises, luckily for my husband, as he had joined up a few years previously. How Bruce knew the difference would always remain a mystery. Folks wearing other uniforms were chased with loud barks and growls.
When we brought our eldest daughter home from hospital, I got the fright of my life. Bruce was not a dog to jump up on folks, with the exception of dad for the previously stated reason, but he went crazy, trying to get to the tiny bundle in my arms. I was most alarmed; I thought Bruce wanted to eat my baby. My fears were unfounded; all he wanted to do was to welcome the baby by vigorously washing her feet, after that he was quite happy to leave the little one to sleep.
Often during the day, my mother-in-law and I would sit on the front veranda with the baby’s pram at my side. Bruce would lie on the other side of the pram keeping guard. Much to our amusement, we soon learned that nobody, not even a dog, was permitted to walk past the house on our side of the street. All and sundry were chased to the other side of the road while baby was on the veranda.
On occasion, I would take a walk with the pram to our local café. Bruce would accompany us. He was a free spirit and never knew what a leash was. He would trot beside us only stopping to mark a lamppost now and again. One day, I wheeled the pram into the café to make my purchase but an African man walked in right behind me. He made the mistake of putting his hand on the hood of the pram as he leaned forward to be served. I thought Bruce was going to take his leg off! The man rushed out with Bruce at his heals. That was the last time I took the pram into the café; after that, I always left the pram outside with Bruce to guard it.
Every second day my mom-in-law would cook a great big pot of meat for Bruce. Bruce would eat his fill, but never finish it all. What he did next, I have never witnessed before, or after. He would run out of the gate and find a small dog to bring home. He would lead the dog to his bowl and watch it eat, then escort the dog out again. To me, this was the most amazing behaviour!
Sadly, Bruce ended his life on a vet’s operating table. He was ailing, so dad took him to the vet, whom after x-raying the dog, discovered a largish wheel with the metal axle still attached, from a child’s toy in his stomach. The vet did his utmost, but it was impossible to save that beautiful soul; the axle had pierced something vital. RIP Bruce.
I have inserted a faded photo of my father-in-law with Bruce, beside the family's Ford Falcon.
