July• 2019 | 21We stayed with my wife’s parents
in their Melbourne home, close to
the beach which we all loved.
One day, while Biddy and I were
on a walk along the beach we
reached a cove with a small lagoon.
I urged her to swim but, unusually,
Biddy refused. I even waded into
the water to encourage her. As I was
standing up to my knees in water,
there was a swirl and a very large
fish surfaced about 30 centimetres
in front of me – I quickly waded back
to the sand.
We continued our walk around
the bend of a rock buttress which
shaded the cove from the rest of the
beach front. There was an elderly
man fishing there and we greeted
each other. He then added, “Don’t
go in the water back there – there’s
a bloody great shark in the lagoon.”
Biddy must have sensed danger
and refused to enter the water. This
is a true instance of a dog’s ability
to predict a menacing threat.her neck. It was worth the effort,
as Bay would do what I say for the
remainder of the day. But, after falling
for this little trick for several days, she
eventually caught on and trotted away
when she saw the bridle.
A few days later, I noticed Bay on
her back rolling in a firebreak. She
must have been there for some time
because she’d made a dip in the loose
soil from rolling around and couldn’t
get back up on her legs.
Carefully kneeling down next to her,
I put my nose to hers and said, “Hello
Bay, having trouble getting up?”
Neighing back at me, with a look
that could kill, she let me push her to
one side so she could finally get up.
Giving herself a good shake, she gave
me a high-pitched ‘thank you’ neigh,
then galloped off.
From that day, she would trot up
to me and, with a knowing shrug,
happily let me put on her bridle.
A Sense of Danger
EDMUND BARTON
I bought Biddy when I was living in
the UK in 1964. An Irish terrier, she
was quick to train. She was a very
obedient dog and when walked would
come to heel automatically. She also
enjoyed swimming in the nearby lake.
In 1971, when I came to Australia,
Biddy came, too. My wife and I
travelled by plane and Biddy and our
Welsh terrier Megan came by ship,
arriving five weeks later and spending
a month in quarantine.