Watching army dogs finding dangerous explosives for the simple reward of playing ball reminded me of my beautiful German Shepherd dog Kara. We had decorated our new home on the sandstone cliffs of Arncliffe, Sydney, and it was time to find a dog. So we answered an advertisement and there were several pedigreed ones to choose from but I spotted a timid one curled in fear against the shed. So we took her home. She needed to be taught how to walk with bribes of little balls of raw mince. She blossomed and we wanted to let her have a litter before being spayed. We had the majestic grooms waiting for Kara to come on heat but they were not available when she was ready, so she found her own. As I drove into our Cul de sac on a rainy day there she was having fun with 4 local dogs (none were of her breed). So I angrily broke up the party and she ran remorsefully up the fifty stairs. Obviously her lover showed her how to jump the side fence. He stood in the rain on the first landing looking longingly up at her and she lovingly looked back down at him, through the huge glassed wall in our lounge room. As I softened at the sight of this love I said to my husband “you know he isn’t a bad little bugger!”
She gave birth to 10 pups all by herself in the carpeted laundry without a peep out of her and cleaned up any mess too. When I found my darling dog after the birth I was so impressed with her and so embarrassed about the fuss humans go through to give birth. She had 3 in her colouring and 7 black which she cared for and kept the sheet and  blanket they were on spotless. After awhile I attempted to help her by feeding them dog food but from that moment on she relinquished her role as mother. At 6 weeks old we donated the gorgeous pups to the local pet shop. Kara was adorable and passionately loved by us all. More on her life later.💜