Red Dog
Tally Ho is his name. He was only a year old, but already he was famous for eating. He ate everything. Tally lives with Jack and Maureen.
Jack Collins and Maureen had to move from Paraburdoo to Dampier.
In Dampier he lived with Jack and Maureen most of the time but he often went walkabout for days at a time. One evening Jack took him out for run on the beach. 'Look, there's Red dog!' called one man. Another man came and patted Red Dog on the head.
Soon Tally escaped from Jack's hold and ran away. A minute later Jack heard a cry.
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Tally found life too interesting to stay in one place. He liked Jack and Maureen, but he didn't love anybody.
It was lucky for him that Dampier was full of lonely men. And hundreds of men were now living in the town to work. Tally liked them. They played with him.
No one knew hie real name, and soon he was just called 'Red Dog', or just 'Red'
The man of the Hamersley Iron Company got to know Red Dog very well, because of john, one of their bus drivers.
One day John was in Dampier, standing by his bus, waiting for his passengers, when he saw Red in the street. He smiled, and went down on one knee. 'Hey,you're beauty,' he said. And from that moment Red Dog knew that his life would be different.
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One day a stranger got on the bus. Nancy Grey was new in town. She was a secretary at Hamersley Iron, and she didn't know about Red Dog. The bus was full of workers. There was just a seat behind the driver, which had a dog in it.
'Down!' said Nancy. Red Dog looked up at her, then looked away agian. He did not move.
Nancy didn't like losing. She wanted to show these men and this dog that she wasn't going to run away. She sat down very carefully on the edge of Red Dog's seat. Red Dog showed his teeth again.
The next morning. Nancy now knew all about Red Dog from the people in the office.
But from that moment, Red Dog and Nancy were friends. Not many people could sit next to Red Dog, but Nancy was one of them.
John liked Nancy,and because Nancy sat with Red Dog in the seat behind the driver, he sometimes got to talk to her.
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One morning Nancy telephoned the bus driver's office at Hamersley Iron. She told John about Red Dog. 'Somebody's shot him.' said Nancy.
Jocko who was from Scotland was good at first aid.
They drove away fast in John's car. John put his hand on Red Dog's head. Red Dog wagged his tail, just a little, at the sound of John's voice.
After four hours' hard driving they arrived in Port Hedland, found the vet's place.
After half an hour the vet came out. 'I think he'll be fine,' he said. Give him sometime to wake up,and we'll see how he is.'
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One day in the morning John did not come in to work, and his friends were worried.
Vanno, Jocko and Peeto felt bad. Jocko went round to john's house. He found Red Dog waiting outside the door. John never left Red outside if he was at home.
Jocko drove along the road from the friends' house. When he came to bend near Dampier, he stopped the car and got out. He walked across the road, and looked down over red rock.
Dampeir was a small place back then, and everyone knew John and liked him. His death made everyone unhappy.
From the time Red Dog became the Dog of the North-West. He belonged to everyone because he could never find John agian.
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During the years after john's death Red Dog had many adventures and accidents, and made many new friends
Red Dog was only eight years old, but he was getting tried. He rode all over Western Australia looking for John.
Finally Red Dog died by poison. They buried Red Dog in stony red ground between Roebourne and Cossack. No one remembers the place now. His friends put up a monument to him in Dampier, and that is the only thing left of Red Dog.