Yep Jo.........he was irreplaceable......
He was a character too. Just a few of the funny stories I can recall when I look at his photo on the wall. He was a Guard Dog as well as a faithful friend.
It's OK Mate.......
We had a new breadman who delivered to us and he came through the back gate one day for some reason depite the 'Beware of the Dog' sign ! I was sat in the living room, saw him and shouted that the Dog is loose out there, he said, "It's OK mate. I'm alright with Dog's !" Before I could do anything this poor guy was firmly pinned up the wall outside with a huge Alsation snarling into his face and paws on his chest. Bread and Cakes were scattered all over the place and the guy was screaming for help ! It took us about half an hour to calm him down with copious cups of Tea and much soothing words.........needless to say he NEVER used the back gate again......... :shock:
The Ham Sandwich.........
He managed to get out once or twice and I am sure he could tell a tale about this incident......
Early one morning, about 6am he had gotten out from his pen outside and I last saw him loping off round the corner. He returned about 10 - 15 minutes later with a package clutched between his ample jaws........he dropped it in front of me and I saw that it was a neatly wrapped package with 2 Ham Sandwiches in it. Prince looked pleased with himself and sat waiting patiently. I thought well, what the hell he might as well have them for breakfast. However I had this mental image of some poor soul who had had to use his lunchtime sandwiches to probably bribe Prince and escape on his way to Work.......I don't think he/she would have laughed though !
Then there was the 'Gravediggers Arms' incident.......
Prince managed to escape again, he was a big Dog and had been trained to jump obstacles so it was a constant battle to keep him in his enclosure without chaining him up. We lived not far from one of Birmingham's biggest Cemetery's and in a lane at the back was a small Pub ....the Gravediggers Arms, not very adventurous in the days when they named Pub's ! Anyway, Prince had apparently been seen making his way through the Cemetery and somehow ended up in the Saloon Bar at the Pub. Well, it seems he took a shine to the place, sat inside near the door to the Bar and was apparently very happy watching all around. The problem arose when anybody wanted to move to get a drink........his snarls and obvious aggressive demeanour put a stop to anybody actually being able to move !!!
Upshot was, the publican phoned the Police......I had already reported him missing so they phoned me and asked me to visit the Pub ASAP.....not a common request from the 'Fuzz'......... :wink:
So off I went in the car and within minutes I was at the Pub.......several very scared punters, one petrified Publican. Apparently they had tried everything to get past Prince, offering him Crisps and even a bowl of Beer......he ate and drank the lot but steadfastly refused to let anyone in or out of the place or even get to the Bar for a calming drink. That little episode cost me a round of drinks for all involved and I also had to turn down a request from the Publican to bring Prince round when they had visiting Darts Teams as there was usually a 'punch up' each time. He said he thought Prince might have a calming effect on the visiting punters !! I turned the offer down, even though it included free beer for the night :wink:
There's many more but I don't want to derail Jo's thread. Just remembering these bought a smile to my face...........