Each of our walks with the dog ends with the fact that the animal necessarily brings home another “trophy”. Usually, Archie returns to the entrance with a stick in his teeth and for some time we stand at the door, and I persuade the dog to leave the prey on the street.
That morning we went for a traditional walk in the forest. When the trees were close, I let Archie off the leash. By tradition, my dog first runs to the river and then runs between the trees. Usually, a few hours are enough for him to use up the accumulated energy, after which he returns at my first whistle.
This walk did not go according to plan – instead of two hours, Archie disappeared for almost 4 and did not respond to the whistle. I went to the forest to search, periodically trying to call the animal by whistling.
Going into the woods a little deeper, I heard barking, though quieter than is typical of Archie, I accelerated my step in the direction of the sound.
The picture that opened up to me was amazing – Archie was lying on the ground and hugging two black wet kittens. The dog was trying to warm the babies and therefore did not come running to my call.
It was obvious that the kittens were born quite recently – they had not yet opened their eyes and easily fit together on the palm of their hand. The kids were left in the woods to die, but Archie was determined to help them. Kittens were the first find that we did not leave behind the door, but carried home.
Now a cheerful couple of cats live in our house. The first weeks I had to feed them with a pipette, but now they have learned to eat themselves, however, the kids prefer to eat from Archie’s bowl, they also sleep on his rug.