Jack opened the front passenger door. ‘Out!’ he said
Tally looked at him, then looked away, and found something very interesting to watch down the street.
Jack didn’t like this. He was an army man, and an order was an order. He picked Tally up, and moved onto the back seat. ‘Stay!’ he said.
Tally waited. When the car was moving, he jumped in to the front seat again, He put his head out of the open window. That way he couldn’t hear any order.
Jack shook his head. ‘That dog just does what he want, ‘he said. ‘He thinks he’s a person, I’m sure of it.’
At the airport Jack let Tally out of the car, and Tally ran the seven kilometres home, chasing the car through the hot afternoon, and loving every minute of it. When he arrived home, he drank about a litre of water, then went outside and lay down under a tree. That evening ate 700 grams of dog food in just over ten seconds.
‘That’s one hungry dog!’ said Jack.
When Tally was sure there was no more food, he went outside again. He had a little sleep, woke up, and thought about going walkabout, maybe chasing a wallaby. There were so many interesting smells out there in the dark! He got to his feet and see off into the night.
In the morning Jack Collins said, ‘I think Tally’s gone walkabout again.’
‘One day he won’t come back.’ Said Maureen
‘He always come back in the end,’ said her husband.
Three days later, Tally walked in, just in time for supper. His coat was dirty, his stomach was nice and full, and he looked very pleased himself.