©GeraldineBanksMarch2025
Meanwhile the dogs and Tommy made good progress, fortunately Tedi’s navigation brought them through two Country Parks, they were called Langley Country Park and Black Country Park. They were safe places for the dogs to be , the weather was pleasant and not too cold even though it was night time, there was good ground coverage of trees and shrubs that they could all hide when necessary.
Bruno kept watch all the time, he was wary of people , however as they walked through the woodland and across the heathland of South Buckinghamshire, the only thing they could hear and see was the nocturnal wildlife that surrounded them. There were many bats flying around , the dogs listened as they whizzed through the air. Tommy wasn’t frightened as the dogs didn’t seem bothered by them and increasingly as Tommy’s eyes became accustomed to the dark, he began to see more and more.
There were lots of voles wandering around, they smelt the dogs and would move back into their little burrows, but the mice seemed oblivious and scurried around in the twigs and moss underneath their feet. Tommy heard and saw frogs and toads, and the air was full of insects, which buzzed around them and drove the bats crazy. Hedgehogs wandered back and forward scurrying along and sometimes you could hear them crunching on the shells of snails and munching on slugs.
Bruno signalled to Tommy that he wanted to go off alone, so Tommy untied himself. Tedi understood and stayed close to Tommy, they were both at the front. They heard a scurrying and snuffling sound that was near them as they approached some woodland. They had came across a Badger Sett, which had a few families of badgers within it, all the families were out , looking for food and getting some fresh air, the cubs were playing and although the parents heard the approach of Tommy and the group , they were not frightened. To the badgers, the little group were part of nature, they smelt just like them. So Tommy gleefully looked on as he walked by and saw the cubs wrestling and playing and screeching and squeaking.
Tedi though kept up the pace, and Tommy kept going, as they walked through the woodland they noticed picnic tables where food had been dropped and apart from Tommy who had a rucksack with fresh food in it, the dogs scavenged a little, but it was not the best of food and they were wary of getting sick. As Tedi explained to them, it wouldn’t be long before they’d have the best of food and a nice bed to lie in.
They reached the end of the wood and Tedi looked up in the sky and checked the stars against his internal GPS.
” Yes, we are heading in the right direction”. He thought to himself.
The terrain they came to after the forest was known as the Carr, it was a landform that is a type of waterlogged wooded terrain, that is a precursor to the formation of land. The land became marshy and there were a lot of shrubs. The dogs sensed the wetness and tried their best to find a way that wasn’t too marshy.
It was then that a group of Roe Deer appeared in the distance being chased by Bruno. Tommy watched fascinated as Bruno ran around them and chased them backwards and forwards. They were getting tired and Bruno was going at full pelt. Tedi and the other dogs looked in awe, however , they all stood still as they knew what was coming next.
One of the deer slipped in the muddy ground and fell and within moments , Bruno , being the Podenco he was , jumped on him and the other deer ran even faster away from the inevitable fate of one of their own.
“What is he doing?” Tommy asked. Tedi looked at him , he couldn’t explain it , it was nature, it was a natural instinct in hunting dogs. The deer would make a good meal for the dogs and then they would be on their way.
By the time they reached Bruno , the deer was dead and Bruno signalled to the dogs to have their fill. Tommy wandered off to a nearby stream so he wouldn’t see them eat and then joined the other dogs. The meat was delicious and by the time they had finished there was nothing left apart from the bones. There was no denying it , it was the best meal any of them had ever had.
It gave them energy for the next phase of their journey and Tommy had understood the importance to them and that it was natural. However, he was certainly put off when he saw the faces of the dogs all covered in blood and led them back to where he had been sitting to have a drink and he helped them clean up. As soon as this was done they continued on their journey, the dogs with renewed energy. Bruno dutifully linked up with Tommy as before. It was going to be hard for the little boy and he needed all the help he could get.
They walked through the marshy area and through more forest until eventually they came to a car park at the end of the Country Park. The moon had disappeared and the first birds were beginning to sing. They would need to find somewhere to shelter as Tedi and the other dogs could smell rain in the air. Bruno thought that it would be best if they followed the road, there weren’t many cars at this time of night. So they padded along gently heading West. Whenever they saw the lights of a car or a delivery van they hid in the undergrowth beside the road.
They came to what looked like an abandoned farm, there were many buildings that looked disused. It was three hours since they left the Country Park and they were all tired and it was getting light. Tedi and Bruno , said to the others to wait while they checked the farm out. Luckily quite near the road was an old barn, which had straw in it , but no sign of any other animals.
” This will do” Tedi said,” We can stay here until it’s dark again tonight and tomorrow we will be home.”
Bruno went off to get the others. They were all ready for a sleep, but it was agreed that one dog would stay awake and be on guard to listen out for anything untoward. So they lay down together, while each dog took turns guarding to protect the others while they were asleep.
Tommy was exhausted and after having some of the juice he had in his rucksack and a sandwich, he fell asleep almost immediately and slept soundly. Bruno lay beside him to keep him warm.
thenotsomightyom 