Shep's Hobby
-James Harriot
Synopsis
The writer, an English country veterinarian, visits a farmer who has the misfortune to have one of the cows in his small herd often falls ill. On this particular occasion, the vet is badly startled by the farmer's dog who barks furiously just as he is passing by. This incident is just the latest; Shep has made a hobby of trying to scare the wits out of this man at every opportunity, but this time he really succeeds. After pulling himself together, the writer proceeds to attend to the ailing cow. No matter what he does, however, the cow's health continues to decline.
Finally, the vet uses his favourite and most drastic technique in an effort to help the cow. Returning to the farm a short time later, he starts off through the field to speak with the farmer and as he walks, the smells and quiet of the meadow mesmerize him. Suddenly, all is sound and fury as Shep leaps in front of him, barking madly. Heart pumping furiously, the vet continues toward the farm where he is delighted to see that the cow has made a speedy recovery. He congratulates himself only to have his ego deflated when the farmer calmly tells him that the postman, of all people, gave him the proper advice that led to the cow's comeback. The vet listens to this as he absentmindedly scratches the cow's tail, soiling his hand in the process. With the farmer's consent, he heads to the farmhouse to wash his hands only to be waylaid once again by Shep. Already low in spirits, the vet's nerves snap and he goes after the big collie.
Dragging the dog by chain to him, he berates the animal loud and long. Chastened, Shep tucks his tail and slinks away to the safety of his kennel. While he is relieved that the dog has learned not to startle him any longer, the writer feels bad that he has deprived Shep of his amusement. But, later that summer as he finds himself near the farm again, he waits at a distance and watches while an unsuspecting peddler is set upon by the dog. Satisfied that Shep still has his hobby, the vet continues on through his day.
This charming first-person account of an English veterinarian relates a tale of a small-time farmer and his dog, Shep. The vet is summoned to treat Rose, one of the farmer's ailing cows. He is unnerved by Shep's timed leap and barking during his approach to the farmer.
Our vet renders several unsuccessful remedies on the ailing bovine. Stymied, he resorts to administering his most powerful portion to Rose. A follow-up visit to the farmer triggers another ambush by Shep. Regaining his composure, our vet renews his trek toward the farm. He's pleasantly surprised to see Rose is feeling better.
His victory smile is short-lived, however, when the farmer informs him that the local postman affected Rose's cure. Adding insult to injury, our disheartened vet discovers his hands were dirtied while scratching Rose. He receives the farmer's permission to wash up in the farmer's house. Of course, Shep is lurking in the shadows and executes yet another ambush on our already troubled vet. Yanking the oversized collie's tether, he administers a severe scolding and threatens the now subservient animal.
Over time, our vet is consoled to find that Shep heeded his message. He discovered, however, that his victory was hollow. There's simply no joy - no satisfaction - in bullying Shep, a mere animal. Indeed, he could only lament over the hurt Shep suffered at his hands. He stripped Shep of his happiness - his "hobby." He wholeheartedly regrets his one-time impetuous action. But vet's burden of guilt is lifted when, later that season, he spies the village tinkerer approaching the farmer's --and Shep's -- house. With all the reliability of Old Faithful, Shep happily dispatches the tinkerer who soon disappears from the vet's view. Our vet now knows that life in the peaceful English village is exactly as it should be.
The writer was Herriot. He was frequently visiting Mr Bailes farm because Bailes cow was sick. One day he was walking between the walls towards the farm . Where the cow was kept. He was worried about why sick cow?
Suddenly the dog barked near his ears. He jumped into the air being frightened. His heart was thumping. Then he saw the dog was running in the corner of the house. It was shep, Bail's dog. He reached the farm. The cow was not well. His medicine was not working. He planned to near cure the cow by using gastric Lavage and with the help of a long rubber stomach tube; pumped the two gallons of warm water mixture in formalin and sodium chloride. He thought that the cow would come in the normal situation by this treatment. Then next morning he met Mrs Bailes. She informs him that the cow was not well. So, he went to see the cow.
When he was walking in the field the dog again barked at him unexpectedly. This time he staggered back and was so frightened. He was trembling. When he reached the farm there he saw the cow was not well. So he decided to use the lavage for the last time. He added two pounds of black treacle to the mixture and pumped it into the stomach of the cow.
The next afternoon, He was surprised to see the rose in the field .she seemed well and was cured well. She looked like a normal cow. But the farmer told him that the cow was cured by the postman. He informs the writer that the postman made the cow gallop and the cow came into normal condition. According to Bailes, Postman used t keep a few animals. So he was clever about how to cure the animals! The writer became sad and when the farmer was explaining he scratched the cow's tail. The cow soiled in his hand. He went to the farmer's house to wash his hand.
Again the dog shep barked at him. That time he felt his heart stop. The writer got angry and he grabbed the chain and began to pull. The dog didn't show any dangerous action. But he surrendered to the writer. The writer shook his fist under the dog's nose and threatened him furiously. Then the dog never barked at him. The writer knew that it was shep's hobby to frighten the people by barking. The writer felt sorry because he snatched (try to hold on with your hand) the dog's hobby from him. But one day he saw the dog barking at the thinker and the thinker ran away being frightened throwing his pots and pans. Then the writer was satisfied because she was still having fun with the people.