Annie the Ranch Dog - New Life in Utopia

By Patty Shafer

A young hog hunting dog finds herself lost and alone after being abandoned by her cruel owners.  They also cause the death of her litter mate, who is her best friend.  She wanders for days, hungry and scared, before happening upon a ranch where Texas State Park Ranger Jake Pickett and his wife are building a log cabin near the small town of Utopia, Texas.  With trepidation, this part pit bull dog struggles to overcome her past tragedies and learn to trust enough to become a member of their family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Smooth Sailing Press
• Release date: Apr 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781618990358

Book preview

Annie the Texas Ranch Dog

New Life in Utopia

by Patty Shafer

Annie the Texas Ranch Dog

New Life in Utopia

Copyright © 2014 Smooth Sailing Press, LLC

Written by Patty Shafer

Illustrated by Shay Retzlaff

Printed in the USA

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced

or transmitted in any form or by any means,

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recording or any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from Smooth Sailing Press.

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to the following address:

Smooth Sailing Press, LLC

20519 Sunshine Ln. Suite B

Spring, Texas 77388

[phone]

www.smoothsailingpress.com

ISBN: 978-1-61899-007-5 Soft Cover

ISBN:  978-1-61899-035-8 eBook

A Publishing Division of Smooth Sailing Press, LLC

A Publishing Division of Smooth Sailing Press, LLC

Dedication

To James Tilden Sikes,

founder of Rafter J Ranch,

but, more importantly,

my father and hero.

Chapter 1

In the Woods

Should I run? Should I hide?

I really don’t know what’s happening or what I should do.  The gravel on the country dirt road scatters as the scratched-up old pickup truck screeches to a stop. Opening the rattling metal dog pen in the back of the truck, the two men shove my brother and me out.  The rough-looking guys are yelling like they’re mad.  Then, they begin laughing that crazy laughter of theirs.

These are two of the guys who throw food into our pen at home.  They also have taken us wild hog hunting many times. The taller one is skinny with dirty, ragged clothes and hair hanging past his ears.  I can always smell him before I see him because his sweaty scent is so strong.  Fond of kicking dogs when he’s angry, he wears boots that feel as hard as a rock. The other fellow is shorter and rounder but smells about the same.  He has no hair on top of his head, but has hair on the lower part of his face—looking like it slid off his head and down to his chin.

Tonight, these two are acting even weirder than when they take us hunting. They brought just Bud and me tonight, not the usual pack of four or five hog hunting dogs.  Plus, we have ridden in the truck for a long time—time for a couple of naps along the way.  Usually, the ride isn’t that long.  The men shoo us off, and I run a little distance from the truck.  When I look back, my brother is hanging back watching the men for their cues to tell us what to do.  I can tell he’s confused, too.

My brother Bud and I are littermates. That means we have the same mother dog and father dog and the same birthday—not that anyone celebrates it. Bud’s coat is light like clouds with big dark blotches like wet dirt on his body and a few dark freckles on his face. His eyes are the same color as his wet dirt blotches. His snout and ears are shorter than those of our hound dog friends.

Although his ears are just large enough to flop over, I can read what he’s thinking by watching how he moves his ears.  When he’s relaxed, he keeps his ears low.  But, when he’s alert—like when he’s tracking an animal or hears a strange sound—he raises the base of his ears and focuses the stare from his eyes like a pinpoint.

When Bud stands by the