Uncle Byron and I have had a few different dogs over the years in Brazil, but our first dog was "Blackie with the One White Spot." That was his "official" name given by William and Dalton. A man and wife who helped us at one of the churches in Fortaleza, Ceara thought a family with boys needed a dog and gave us Blackie when he was a wee little puppy.
It soon became evident that Blackie was stubborn, hard to teach, and quite disobedient. But he was loving and the boys did like him. When he was still a very young puppy, I worked hard to teach him to sleep on an old rug just outside the garage door. He would cry and whimper most of the night. All the neighbors would complain. Several suggested politely that we let the dog in! I tried to explain that we were training the dog to sleep in the right place. It took a long time and unhappy neighbors but he did finally learn.
Amazingly we were able to teach Blackie a few things inspite of his demeanor. He could "sit" and go "out." "Out" was his best trick and he loved to practice. He would come in all day long just to hear me say - "Go Out!" Even the maid girl that helped us knew the word in English for telling him to "Sai, logo!"
In 1999 we went home to the States for a furlough and sadly had to leave Blackie in Brazil. I was worried but we had a very nice man who promised to take good care of him, and the man did just that. He even taught Blackie a few new things like sitting on a plastic chair on command to take a bath. But Blackie was a biter and bite several people that year - members of the church! He was protective and a great guard dog. He would give intruders a nice nip on their heel to warn them off. Just one little nip and lots of barking! I'm sure he thought he was doing his job - and he was! In Brazil every home needs a good guard dog!
When we got back from our furlough the man called to say he would come on a certain day to bring Blackie to us. The day before the scheduled meeting I went out to buy some bread early in the morning for our breakfast. We were staying at the Fortaleza Academy guest house for a few days before going on to our new home in Bahia. When I went to the breadstore I saw a dog that looked just like Blackie. It looked at me right in the eyes and sort of smiled and wagged its tail. I was somewhat bewildered. It didn't look quite right but it had been several months since I had seen my dog. Could it be? I wasn't sure but the dog started following me and I began to wonder if it could be our dog. How could it be? Maybe it had gotten away from the man? Maybe he had come a day early and Blackie had run off? I really didn't know but decided to take the dog back to the school guesthouse. So I took it by the collar and lead it down the road.
When I got back to the guesthouse, the boys decided it must be their dog and petted it and loved it and called it Blackie. The dog seemed very happy, but something wasn't quite right. It was a little fatter than our old dog and the white spot wasn't quite right. After about 30 minutes, the school guard came to the guesthouse with a man who was shouting something about a woman and a stolen dog!
Seems several people had seen me bringing the dog to the school from the breadstore and had informed the dog's true owner. The dog was not Blackie at all. The man grumbled and said some fairly unkind things as I tried to apologize and explain. Uncle Byron was no help at all as he was dying of laughter and just listened to the man calling me a dog thief.
Later we got the real Blackie back! Here are a few photos of Blackie and some of our other dogs. Blackie died in 2012 from canine distemper. Sadly there are not regular shots for this disease in our part of Brazil. He turned out to be a happier dog in his old age and even learned a few new tricks.
It soon became evident that Blackie was stubborn, hard to teach, and quite disobedient. But he was loving and the boys did like him. When he was still a very young puppy, I worked hard to teach him to sleep on an old rug just outside the garage door. He would cry and whimper most of the night. All the neighbors would complain. Several suggested politely that we let the dog in! I tried to explain that we were training the dog to sleep in the right place. It took a long time and unhappy neighbors but he did finally learn.
Amazingly we were able to teach Blackie a few things inspite of his demeanor. He could "sit" and go "out." "Out" was his best trick and he loved to practice. He would come in all day long just to hear me say - "Go Out!" Even the maid girl that helped us knew the word in English for telling him to "Sai, logo!"
In 1999 we went home to the States for a furlough and sadly had to leave Blackie in Brazil. I was worried but we had a very nice man who promised to take good care of him, and the man did just that. He even taught Blackie a few new things like sitting on a plastic chair on command to take a bath. But Blackie was a biter and bite several people that year - members of the church! He was protective and a great guard dog. He would give intruders a nice nip on their heel to warn them off. Just one little nip and lots of barking! I'm sure he thought he was doing his job - and he was! In Brazil every home needs a good guard dog!
When we got back from our furlough the man called to say he would come on a certain day to bring Blackie to us. The day before the scheduled meeting I went out to buy some bread early in the morning for our breakfast. We were staying at the Fortaleza Academy guest house for a few days before going on to our new home in Bahia. When I went to the breadstore I saw a dog that looked just like Blackie. It looked at me right in the eyes and sort of smiled and wagged its tail. I was somewhat bewildered. It didn't look quite right but it had been several months since I had seen my dog. Could it be? I wasn't sure but the dog started following me and I began to wonder if it could be our dog. How could it be? Maybe it had gotten away from the man? Maybe he had come a day early and Blackie had run off? I really didn't know but decided to take the dog back to the school guesthouse. So I took it by the collar and lead it down the road.
When I got back to the guesthouse, the boys decided it must be their dog and petted it and loved it and called it Blackie. The dog seemed very happy, but something wasn't quite right. It was a little fatter than our old dog and the white spot wasn't quite right. After about 30 minutes, the school guard came to the guesthouse with a man who was shouting something about a woman and a stolen dog!
Seems several people had seen me bringing the dog to the school from the breadstore and had informed the dog's true owner. The dog was not Blackie at all. The man grumbled and said some fairly unkind things as I tried to apologize and explain. Uncle Byron was no help at all as he was dying of laughter and just listened to the man calling me a dog thief.
Later we got the real Blackie back! Here are a few photos of Blackie and some of our other dogs. Blackie died in 2012 from canine distemper. Sadly there are not regular shots for this disease in our part of Brazil. He turned out to be a happier dog in his old age and even learned a few new tricks.
Blackie was a good dog which I came to be fond of after he figured out that I was a good visitor. He was smart and I remember his jumping tricks.I also never told him to Go out.Once when I had to stay by my self at the house he decided he should stay by my feet and I was happy to have him.Just in case.
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