What Heidi Knows

By Akiko Michael and Gemma Tamas

Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Albert Einstein
What Heidi Knows is the story of Heidi, a Rottweiler and Checkmate,
a Basenji.As a puppy, Heidi was an abused dog, rescued by the Friends of the
Animals Association and later put up for adoption. Heidi adopts a woman to
be her friend but not her master, as she was and still is an alpha dog. Over their
years, Heidi and her human companion explore British Columbia, enduring
many hardships, always striving for a better life.
This story written from Heidis and Checkmates point of view, portrays their
many friends, both canine and human, who pass through their life, some
permanent some temporary.
As the life story of Heidi and Checkmate unfolds, it shows us the many inherent
qualities of a dog, from endurance to tolerance, sympathy and affection to
zealous enthusiasm.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 26, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462871742

Book preview

What Heidi Knows

97500-TAMA-layout-low.pdf97500-TAMA-layout-low.pdf

by Gemma Tamas

Illustrated by Akiko Michael

Copyright © 2011 by Gemma Tamas.

Illustration by Akiko Michael

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011907725

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4628-7173-5

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4628-7172-8

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4628-7174-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

Acknowledgement

The Age of Innocence

The Hell-enistic Age

The Pre-historic Age

The Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Recovery

Hell-enistic Age Revisited

Time to say Good-bye!

Life in the Kennel

The Age of Change

The New Age

The Age of Research

The Age of Learning

The Age of Disorder

The Age of the two Nitwits

Byzantine Age

The Age of Lunacy

Reaching for the Stars

The Age of Introspection

The Great Depression

The Age of Hope

The Age of Disaster

The Age of Martyrdom

The Age of Audacity

The Age of Freedom

The Golden Age

The Day of Sanctification

The Age of Reunion

Rocky, the Mighty Rottweiler

The Age of Sorrow

Checkmate

My Early Days

My First Mistress

Educating a Basenji

Eddy, the Greyhound

Gentle Ben

No Dogs without Leash

Checkmate Dog Couture

Heidi, the Rottweiler

Congo and His Guardian

The Miracle Worker

The Age of Rejoicing

The Age of Tragedy

The Age of Torment

Middle Age

The Life of an Eccentric

The Twilight Age

The Age of Accomplishment

Losing my Handsome Look

The Age of Terror

Congo and the Bear—A Tall Tale

Alien Encounters

The Winter of Our Discontent

The Age of Darkness

Brutus, the ‘yes man’ Dog

The Age of Reflection

Epilogue

Acknowledgement

I WOULD LIKE to thank my friend, Ingrid Dore, who, countless times edited this book and giving me courage to publish it. I must say thanks to my friend Akiko, who, with her great artistic talent, did the cover page and drawings as she did for my previous book.

Thanks to my husband, Laszlo, for his infinite patience through the years while I struggled to write this book.

But most of all I thank Heidi for being my loyal and loving friend, who still teaches me to live my life to the fullest, to accept each day as it comes.

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The Age of Innocence

IN THE BEGINNING of 2001, called Dog Year One, I was born. That’s right! I was born in Year Number One, on a farm, in a dark corner of a stable on straw covered floor. The farm nestled in the Fraser Valley, not far from the small city of Abbotsford, British Columbia. Boundless pastures, covered with frost in the mornings, thawed by noon under grey sky, surrounded the barn and a house near by.

My mother had a handful to look after us, seven to be precise, making sure we didn’t wander away from our safe quarters as we had to share that large place with other, giant sized creatures. I had five brothers and one sister, who was a weakling, the smallest in our family.

The first three months of my life, I spent frolicking around with my siblings without any care what my future might hold. But when the cows, those giant creatures, were put out to the pasture to start munching on the delicate new grass, my mother had to leave to attend to her duties.

Don’t forget, she warned us before she left. You are a noble breed! Strong! She glanced uneasily towards my sister, then continued, and fearless! Sister started to whimper but mother looked at her with stern eyes and carried on. You are hard workers and the best friend of human kind. I put up a somber face as all of my brothers did, only an uneasy premonition twitched my heart.

Hereafter, one by one, my brothers were taken away even my frail sister was picked up by an elderly woman caressing her in her arms. While I looked forward to a life of freedom and adventure, to have a loving home to share it with good friends, I waited patiently for my turn.

Soon, oh much too soon, it was my time to leave and all my hopes and dreams were crushed when I found myself chained to a pole in the middle of a gravel yard; not a blade of grass or flower softened the ground. High wooden planks imprisoned me and held the outside world afar. I couldn’t find any shade to protect me from the sun’s hot rays, and I shivered and trembled when rain poured down soaking me to the bone. I rattled and chewed on my chain, but it was useless; I couldn’t free myself. Is that all there is to life? I wondered almost ready to give up.

The Hell-enistic Age

LOOK AT THAT mad dog, Mark, said a big boy who stood on stacked boxes on the other side of the fence, staring at my futile struggle. Watch! he laughed, then threw a stone in my direction.

You shouldn’t do that, Roby, said Mark, the yellow-headed youngster, who tried to stop his friend.

Why not? Look! She is frothing at the mouth! Roby laughed again, squinted his eyes and aimed. When the stone hit me, I yelped with pain.

She is a cry baby, Roby jeered, a cry baby same as you, and with a shove Mark’s head disappeared.

#

Ma! a little girl stood on the high deck of the neighbor’s house, her eyes overflowing with tears. Look at that poor puppy. She can hardly stand up! And she is bleeding from her neck! She pointed her finger at me.

Get inside! The mother grabbed the little girl’s shoulders and shooed her in. We can’t watch that any longer! I have to do something! She nervously snatched the phone. I have to call someone. Her fingers trembled while she turned the pages of the phone directory. But whom should I call for help? SPCA? She mumbled. I’ll try.

#

What the hell is going on here? My keeper, a heinous man through and through, rushed from the house when he heard my cry and gave me a kick. You good for nothing! he snarled and marched up to the fence. You’d better watch out! He banged on the wooden plank, shouting at the two boys, Roby and Mark. That dog is vicious and I want to keep her that way!

Hey Charley! The woman called from the house. Your supper is ready! An appetizing aroma drifted from the house to my nose only to give my stomach an aching growl. Although they had food to eat and plenty of it, they wouldn’t give me any for days, not even a morsel.

Come on you slob! Charley called to the woman every other day. Get your fat ass over here and feed that dog! The woman, wrapped in dirty clothes, wobbled under the weight of her obese body, carrying a greasy, dirty plate to me to lick clean. Tough as I was, I got weaker and weaker. Charley with his cruelty tried to turn me into some kind of savage bully like he himself was. It might have worked if I’d stayed much longer, and the months I had to endure there seemed like forever.

The Pre-historic Age

THE PHONE’S SHRILL ringing interrupted Ann and Catherine’s lunch.

Yes, Ann answered, her face slowly turned ghostly white while she listened. I understand. It is urgent! She put the phone down, pushed away her half-eaten meal, and stared into the air. Another one, she sighed. The chair scraped the floor as she stood up.

We don’t have an empty kennel left, Cathy, the older of the two, objected with a feeble voice, and no money to feed another. She glared down at her food pushing it around the plate.

Don’t worry, we’ll manage somehow, Ann said, putting on her boots and lacing them up. I’ll just check on the dogs first before I leave, she bent down to the old woman patting her shoulders then left through the back door leading to their small backyard. A dozen dogs’ happy barking greeted Ann, while she went from cage to cage to see if they are comfortable and secure and they had plenty of water in their drinking bowls. Satisfied, she hurried back to the house, ready to go. She grabbed her car keys from a small table beside the kitchen door and waved to Cathy.

I’ll be back in a jiffy! Ann called before closing the front door behind her. She checked to make sure that she had a couple of leashes and blankets on her car’s back seat before she drove away.

The Age of Enlightenment

I LAY HELPLESSLY on the gravel, my bones sticking through my skin and blood dribbled from the sores on my neck. To escape from my misery I had drifted into a bewildered trance when suddenly a noise from screeching tires roused me. Through bleary eyes, I saw Charley and the woman with their souped-up car disappearing in a cloud of dust. A few minutes later, I heard a creaking sound. Someone opened the gate to the yard. A woman, I had never seen before, with steadfast steps walked up to me, and her deft fingers removed my collar, which had bitten into my flesh leaving open sores. Her strong arms carried me out to her waiting car and put me inside on a soft blanket, and then promptly she drove away. I was a six-month’s old bewildered puppy, who had never experienced human kindness.

In the car, I lifted my head and saw the woman’s head bobbing up and down with her hair pinned-up in a bun.

How can anyone treat a dog like that? A puppy, nevertheless. Heartless beasts! I could strangle them with my own hands! She endlessly talked to herself. Her voice lulled me to sleep.

A half hour or so later, the car stopped, and we pulled into a driveway. I staggered out of the car. Two large trees in the front were hiding a small house. Its walls, painted white a long time ago, were now faded into a grayish color. Small, green-framed windows were staring through sparkling glass. I helplessly followed the woman, climbing up the rickety stairs to the entrance at the side of the house. She opened the door and we entered. Inside I stopped and leaned against the door as it closed behind me. My feelings were numb, my legs weak while I stood there waiting but not expecting much.

On my left, I noticed a large room jammed with knick-knacks precariously placed on small tables and, at the far end, snowy white curtains billowed in the air in front of an open window. Warm sunshine burst through them. All around colorful pictures, depicting dogs and cats, decorated the walls.

The woman disappeared. Then I heard clattering and water running in another room. When I saw her again, she held two bowls in her hands, one filled with food, and the other with crystal clear water. She put them down in front of me.

Eat! Eat little one, she said, and stepped back. I, not waiting for more encouragement, gobbled down the food to ease my stomach’s grumbling hunger.

After when I finished, I looked up at her and all I saw were her kind smiling eyes.

The woman came closer. She knelt down and petted my head, while her fingers busily brushed up the hair all over my body as if she was searching for something.

Here it is! She exclaimed, holding up one of my ears. She’s a pure breed! It is tattooed in her ear. Leaning on her knees, she pushed herself up giving me an affectionate tap on my head and hurried to a table in the corner. She pressed a button on a machine and a bright light lit up that instrument. Then she sat down and her fingers started tapping on something in front of her making small clacking sounds. After a few minutes, she shouted.

Her name is Heidi!

An elderly, grey haired woman, bearing down on a cane appeared and shuffled up to her. She peered over the sitting woman’s shoulders.

How clever of you, Ann, to find that, she said, and then turned to me, wagging her stick.

Don’t just stand there, Heidi, go lay down on that blanket! With her cane she pointed to a blanket in the corner.

I followed her command and, after inspecting that old and ragged but clean smelling bedding, I lay down. In less than a blink, my eyes closed.

You know we have no place to put her, the grey one said. Not one empty cage! I opened one eye and saw Ann gently squeezing the old woman’s hand.

I know, Cathy, I know, but I couldn’t leave her there. She is only a young one and she suffered enough.

I listened to their muffled talk; my emaciated body drew tears in their eyes. But before I drifted off to sleep, I somehow knew I didn’t have to be afraid anymore; I was sure these people would look after me.

#

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My name is Heidi! I am a Rottweiler!

In many books, you see a disclaimer stating the characters and the events are imaginary.

I assure you what I am about to tell you are not my imaginations, but the whole truth.