The Do-Gooders

By Haydee Diaz

Our heroes are taken from birth through adult phase by their human and animal foster family guiding all the way.
Pivotal to the journey, an unconventional dog trainer teaches them to think outside the box.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Haydee Diaz
• Release date: Dec 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223923435

Book preview

Chapter One

The sunlight glistens in yellow, orange and deep red on drops of water that pool on the ground on this rainy day. An irritating ultrasonic sound can heard in the distance. A high-pitched noise radiates out of a device that is used to drive away pesky birds. This sound irritates birds so much that they have no choice but to fly away. Humans aren’t affected at all, because they can’t hear that high pitched sound; only animals can and that's why it's used. Those distant echoes arrive instantly in our ears, when I along with my sister Dae are on duty at this farm we call home.

We know not to react but instead to stay in place. As we earn our keep at our family’s farm by performing the duties necessary to help protect this immense landscape. This place is The TouJays, a blueberry and strawberry farm. Try saying TouJays eight times in a row and you get a similar sounding word ‘touché.’ The first J is for Jaycee, wife of the second J who is Jayson, owners of these rolling hills and lush valleys. A successful blueberry and strawberry farm that has provided luscious berries for this third-generation farming family. We are brother and sister shepherd dogs; the ever ready and nimble tag team duo nicknamed The Do-Gooders. Responsible for helping The TouJays’ farm staff to maintain overall security.

My name is Knight and my sister is Dae, and we were born here on the farm. We've been trained to follow orders and keep other animals safe by our trainer Ms. Aimsley. She likes to say, You can just call me Aimsley, it’s not casual but less formal. Every time we both reach a new level in our training, Aimsley always says, You did Good Dae, or Good Boy Knight, well done!

My sister and I pass most lessons our trainer asks us to perform, with very few errors. Aimsley is only here part-time, then goes off to help train other working dogs in need of special help too. Puppies like us learn to imitate our first teachers, our moms; developing our senses and survival skills. But we don’t have a role model to follow because Dae and I are orphan dogs. We lost our mom at birth, so Aimsley was hired by our owners Jaycee and Jayson to help train us both from scratch.

Chapter Two

When looking back at our actual birthday, the credit should be given to two heroes that helped ensure our safe delivery into this world. Owen the farm manager and his son Enrique the assistant manager/groundskeeper, always in dusty boots, noticed our expecting mama Misty start to become restless one night. Misty had gone into a painfully drawn-out labor process, but that wasn’t a problem for Owen who is a seasoned expert at monitoring birth.

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Enrique and Owen laid out our receiving blankets and were joyful to deliver us both on this overcast and frigid night. Misty exhibited a body temperature below a healthy range for an expecting dog mom, and after a few hours of loud panting, came a series of painful stretches. Enrique and Owen noticed Misty’s eyes closing and opening and the situation went from easy peasy to red alert

Dad, look at her, is that normal? This is my first delivery with your help, I don’t want to mess up! Enrique said to his dad.

Son, nothing good comes from losing your cool. But I do feel she isn’t ok Owen replied. We are going to have to help deliver the litter sooner than expected. Let's keep Misty comfortable.

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Owen wrapped Misty up in a warm blanket to ensure her body temperature stayed stable enough for the birthing. Sitting next to Misty, Owen had a flashback memory of trickling beads of sweat on his forehead, sliding down his neck landing on his collarbone. It was the time he was present for Simone’s first delivery years ago on one hell of a hot midsummer’s night. ‘Foaling’, or the birth process for mares the female horse usually happens overnight to early morning. Owen alongside Jayson were the foaling attendants that night, pacing back and forth like expecting fathers. Unless there is a reason to call a veterinarian, humans just need to be quiet observers.

"Sir, patience is all that is needed for now. Simone has a