A Farmer, His Family and His best Friend
Farmer Joe began small, but grew to obtain much land and livestock. During those years of experiencing growing pains, his livestock had rapidly reproduced to a greater number than he and his family could care for, but he could not financially afford to pay for labor to manage it.
And then his big break came. It was like a gift from Heaven. A friend gave him a border collie pup named Hank. Joe's children bonded with the lovable canine immediately. Soon, Hank was rounding up cattle, herding goats, driving the chickens into their roosting shed and protecting Joe's family from everything suspicious - highway bums to dangerous varmints. He did the work of many men.
Once Joe's 2-year old son, Sid, got out of the gate and headed for the highway. When he was within 6 feet of the pavement where cars and 18-wheelers were whizzing by, HanK saw him and intervened. He kept intercepting and blocking Sid until his family saw him and came running - swooping him up into safety
Another time, when Joe's daughter, Beth, was 4 years old, Hank spotted a rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike her! He leaped onto the rattlesnake, ripping it apart, but in the process sustained several bites and almost died.
One day when Doris, Jos's wife, was feeding the chickens, a wild boar came charging toward her, Hank intercepted and fought a bloody fight. He suffered a punctured lung from the boar's tusk as well as many rips and tears that had to be stitched up.
Seventeen years passed. Joe's most trusted and loyal friend, Hank, had become crippled with arthritis. He limped when he walked. Joe began to experience some financial setbacks. In his strategizing, he tried to figure out where he could cut cost. Cold heartedly, Joe decided that Hank was no longer that asset he had once been; he could no longer justify his vet bills.
Doris, Sid and Beth, srongly protested against having Hank put down. Joe could see that he was outnumbered. So, the next evening Joe decided to take Hank out on the stock pond. He called for Hank to get into the boat with him, stroked his paddle to advance out over the deepest part and then began pushing crippled Hank out of the boat, attempting to drown him. In the process of Hank's resistance, the boat capsized, dumping Joe, who couldn't swim, in the deep water.
Joe was kicking, splashing, hollering, "HELP", but he began to sink. As water began filling his nose and throat, he felt someone pulling him up. It was crippled Hank. Hank struggled to swim while pulling Joe by the collar to shore. Joe was not worthy of the loyalty and friendship of his faithful companion Hank.
