| Boetie & How
the Ridgeback Got the White Toes
by Elizabeth Akers, Rescue Coordinator
Boetie lay next to his cousins Gert and Nooi,
at the edge of the tall grass, listening and smelling new
aromas in the air. The three pups were remarkably similar
in appearance, they each had a shiny bronze coat, long droopy
ears, a strip of hair growing in reverse along their back
and a small diamond shape of darker hair on their tails. Although
their coats shone brightly, they were not easy to see as they
lay calmly in the dry grass.
They dozed as the sound of a kalimba swept softly
across the veld. The notes rose and fell as if in time to
the fever tree branches swaying in the breeze. There was an
enticing smell of meat cooking over a fire that wafted on
this same breeze, tickling the three noses poking through
the tall elephant grass.
All three lay together, plotting to steal the
meat from over the fire. Gert thought he was braver than Boetie,
and Nooi thought she was cleverer than either Boetie or Gert.
So they lay listening and smelling and dozing in the sun,
still plotting all the same.
A herd of zebra wandered close to the pups,
but they were too busy planning their theft, to harass the
striped animals. A gompou (bustard) strolled across in front
of the pups and a ratel (badger) rolled by on his way to raid
a honey nest. The pups ignored them all. The smell of the
cooking meat was far more enticing to the pups than any of
their usual quarry of the veld.
Nooi rolled over lazily, crushing the fragrant
flowers of a blue Afrikander beneath her as she rolled. Close
to Boetie grew a Buchu bush and he wrinkled his nose as the
pungent aroma of the buchu mingled with the sweet Afrikander
and joined the heady, tummy-wrenching smell of the cooking
meat.
He rose slowly to his feet and stretched majestically.
He told his cousins to stay well hidden and to answer his
call only when he barked twice. As he was the eldest, they
obeyed Boetie, but they were not happy to be left behind.
Slinking low to the ground, Boetie crept closer to the kraal.
He wriggled through the grass on his belly and stopped just
inches away from the path through the doringboom wall (thorn
tree wall). The smell of meat was so much stronger here, the
music was very soothing and Boetie felt himself relax and
he became more confident of sneaking into the kraal without
being seen by the people.
Boetie skirted behind the nearest rondavel (hut),
and trotted carefully across a small open space between two
grinding stones. He crawled into a hole under the next rondavel,
went out the other side, shaking pieces of straw from his
whiskers and found himself right at the edge of the fire pit.
The aroma was simply delicious and Boetie's mouth drooled
as he feasted on the smell and the sight of the meat roasting
over the fire. As he readied himself to bark twice, a large
hand grabbed the scruff of his neck and shook him hard. Boetie
was so scared. A second pair of hands grabbed Boetie around
the hindquarters and between the two men Boetie was unceremoniously
carried into a rondavel and dumped on the ground. Boetie barked
and barked. He forgot that the signal of two barks would bring
his cousins to his side. He began to try and dig his way out
of the rondavel, and to his great relief found the dirt to
be well packed but soft. He stopped barking but continued
to grumble like the drums of the warriors.
Meanwhile Nooi and Gert had crept into the kraal
after they heard Boetie's frantic barks. They travelled through
the kraal very slowly and carefully. Straining to hear the
direction from which Boetie's grumbles were coming, they managed
to arrive near the fire pit, just as Boetie's front feet tore
through the underneath of the rondavel. Boetie dug furiously
and as his feet churned up the edge of the fire pit, two rough
hands grabbed him from behind. Now he was truly trapped. He
was stuck under the rondavel, his feet were getting warm from
the fire pit and his rear end was being firmly held by the
unseen hands. What was the dog to do???
Leaving Gert to guard one side of the rondavel,
Nooi made her way around to the other side and together they
both began to dig through to Boetie, trying to open up the
hole he had begun. Boetie was struggling for his life now
and his feet were burning in the embers at the edge of the
fire pit. The unseen pair of hands holding onto him from behind
tried to pull his entire body backwards, but Boetie's front
legs were too strong. He had such a good grip, albeit in amongst
the hot embers, that he was able to gain a little bit of ground,
further into the fire pit. Poor Boetie. His feet were smarting
and burning, but he knew he had to go forward to escape his
unseen captor.
All three pups forgot about the smells still
wafting on the breeze. Forgotten too were their plans for
stealing the meat. Boetie had to get out of this place quickly.
Gert and Nooi dug faster and harder. Just as their toes felt
the heat from the embers, Boetie tumbled out through the hole
they had widened for him. With smarting toes, Boetie ran behind
Gert and Nooi to the doringboom opening. He whimpered as he
ran. He was too afraid someone might catch him again if he
slowed down to lick his sore feet, so on he ran as fast as
he could.
When they reached the safety of the elephant
grass, Nooi made Boetie lie down and licked the pads on his
feet for him. Gert brought some cool wet mud from the riverbank
and using his mouth put the mud over Boetie's toes and pads
to try and soothe the pain. They were so exhausted they fell
asleep curled up together in the tall grass. Boetie whimpered
in his sleep that night.
The next day they started for home. They walked
very slowly. Boetie liked to keep his feet wet so he walked
through as many streams and rivers as he could. He kept his
feet caked with mud as he found that they did not hurt as
much with a thick coating of mud protecting the burned pads.
They arrived home and once again Boetie's mother helped nurse
her son back to health.
Several months later Mantis came to visit the
pack of Ridgebacks. He had been told of the incident involving
the cooking meat and was there to mete out suitable punishment
to Boetie. He listened very carefully to the tale of Boetie's
escapade while trying to steal the meat. Boetie was very honest
in relating his attempted theft and showed Mantis the scars
on his feet from the burning embers. Mantis was both proud
of Boetie's honesty and angry that Boetie had tried to steal
from another. He told the pup that he would have to think
long on the matter and he climbed high up to the top of a
kopje to assume his usual pose, and to think deeply of a suitable
punishment to be dispensed to Boetie.
The following morning Mantis climbed down from
the kopje and announced he had come to a decision about Boetie's
attempted theft. He looked carefully at Boetie's scarred feet
and said. "From this day, shall all thieving Ridgebacks
have white toes. This shall be so and it shall show to the
rest of the clan those that are not to be trusted around food."
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