Ah
Bruno. He was Bert's very first dog, one he had from a puppy. He came from a neighbour, a collie crossed with something. Who
knows? In the days before neutering, responsibility and quiet roads
male dogs were always wandering around impregnating bitches all over
the place. And as roughly 33% of the dogs in Ireland were Border or
Glenwherry collies most of those dogs were collie crosses.
Pearlie
named him. She named all the dogs. Bert didn't care for now he had
his very own puppy that followed him everywhere. Bruno even followed
him to school, the Diamond Primary School, only a stone's throw from
his house. The day that Bruno followed Bert to school was also the
day the school photographer was there. Back then, the road wasn't as
fast or busy as it is now and folk didn't concern themselves if their
dogs strayed on the road.
Nowadays
we're always taking photographs. Almost everyone has their own camera
phone and most people have a digital camera as well. It's a far cry
from the time when film and photo processing were expensive. So now our
photographs are mainly digital and practically free. Even our pets
have hundreds of pictures taken of them. But, as far as anyone knows
there is only one photograph of Bruno. The one the school
photographer took.
Bruno
was about three years old when he was knocked down and killed on the
Dreen Road. He went down the steep bank at the top of the lawn and
was hit by the breadman. He was killed in exactly the same place
where Charlie was to die more than forty years later. Little wonder
we have it fenced off now. The Dreen Road is a dangerous place for a
wandering dog.
Bruno
lived at a time when photographs were precious. Maybe there was no
camera in the few years that he lived. But it is rather wonderful
that there is one excellent picture, taken by a professional
photographer, to remember him by. Every time Bert comes across it he
sighs. He loved that dog and the day the breadman came up the lane to
tell them that Bruno was dead was one of the saddest of his life.
3 comments:
That is an excellent photo
It is.
A great photo of Bruno & young Bert. I love old photos like this.
Post a Comment