Ā©GeraldineBanksMarch2025
Cross sat by the phone on his desk and gazed out the window from his office hoping to get some news on the whereabouts of the dogs. He distracted himself by looking at the view up the long drive to the House . In the far off distance he thought he saw a small dot moving closer to the house and gradually the small dot became a silhouette of some large dogs, a small dog and a little boy. Dawn had broken and the birds were chirping. The sun was rising behind the little group and the grey drive gradually became bathed in sunshine and appeared to glow beside the trees that lined it . As the colours of the day returned, Cross realised that at the front of the little group there was a little white dog leading the way.
“Teds!”
He immediately got out of his chair , ran out of his office and down the stairs to the front door. He was shouting.
“They’re back, they’re back!” He sprinted down the drive way.
Lettie and the Cook heard him, the Cook appeared out of the kitchen with her hands all covered in flour as she’d been baking bread. Lettie realised what was happening and went and got some camera gear and some dog collars and leads from the storeroom.
Cross ran as fast as he could and as he got closer was getting more and more out of breath.
Meanwhile Tedi and the others kept their pace as they were very tired and just wanted to keep going particularly for Tommy’s sake as they knew he needed proper food and a bed. The little boy had done very well , but they were scared he might be sick and knew that he certainly couldn’t run. So they kept walking and everyone stayed together.
James was out walking his new arrival who began to pull on his lead and whine when he saw his friends.
” Hey boy, what’s up?” James said to him, and then looked in the direction the dog was pulling.
” Wow, Good Boy, you want to go and see your friends, steady!” James held the dog on the lead but started heading towards the little group.
Tedi meanwhile had spotted Cross running towards him, it was the best sight ever, he still stayed with his little group but Tedi had a smile on his face, he was home, very tired, very hungry and he thought he might have picked up some fleas or tics and would be so grateful to have his regular worming tablet , but he was home.
Cross reached him and picked him up off the ground in his arms.
“Oh my boy, it’s good to see you!” Cross picked Tedi up and hugged him ,Tedi was light as a feather and had lost quite a bit of weight . He put him down when he noticed the other dogs and the little boy were not too sure what would happen next. Tedi was safe but were they?
“And these must be your friends, come on , come on into the house, you look as if you could do with a good meal!” Cross, though , realised that he would need to contact the doctor and the vet as soon as possible.
James arrived with the other dog and Bruno in particular was very pleased to see him, the other dog let Bruno know that everything was fine here, there was good food and the people were very nice and there was plenty of room for everyone.
Lettie arrived with some collars and leads but they weren’t necessary, all the animals were so tired that they just followed Tedi. Lettie noticed Tommy and his rucksack , she walked over to him and said.
” Hello, what’s your name?”
” Tommy” Tommy said looking up with his big eyes at Lettie.
“Do you want me to carry your rucksack, you look very tired, do you want some breakfast?” Lettie smiled at the little boy.
” Yes please” Tommy replied.” Be careful though it’s got a little fox in it , I rescued it , I’ve given it water and a little food, it’s got a sore leg.”
Lettie , took the rucksack, which wriggled and took Tommy by the hand and began to lead him up to the House. They were just passing by James and Lettie looked down at Tommy and said.
“I’m going to give your little Fox to James, he will look after it and we’ll go and see him after you’ve had breakfast and a bath , is that alright?”
James let the dog he was with , off the lead as it obviously wanted to be with the other dogs and he watched as they all nuzzled each other, glad to know they were safe. He took the fox and when he got back to the House put it in a secure cage with some food and water and made it as comfortable as possible. He then took one of the House vehicles back to collect the dogs who now they knew they were safe were resting on the grass. When he arrived back with the vehicle the dogs all hopped in straight away and Tommy got in the front with Lettie and James.
Once back at the House, word had got around that ” Tedi was back”.
Trinnie was the first down the stairs, but she couldn’t believe how thin and unkempt her Tedi had become. She went over and sniffed him and licked his face, he in turn greeted her and let her know he was very glad to be back home. Then all the other House dogs appeared and there was utter pandemonium
Meanwhile James went and rang the vets as all the dogs would need to be assessed, and Cross and the cook arranged food bowls and water bowls in the drawing room along with some cushions and blankets that the dogs could lie on. The sun shone through the big curtained windows of the drawing room and it was warm and clean and Bruno and his friends could not believe their luck. They ate a little and drank, but mainly they wanted just to lie in the warm sun and have a sleep.
Tedi , Cross and Lettie went upstairs to the office with Tommy. They would have to decide what to do with the little boy, but in the meantime , what he needed was a good bath and to go to bed. They’d get the doctor to visit in the afternoon.
” Thank you , ” was all Tommy could say, he was very tired and barely could stay awake. They found some fresh pyjamas and tucked him into bed near Lettie ‘s room and Lettie stayed with him just in case he woke up and needed something. In truth Tommy had been too tired to eat.
thenotsomightyom 