A Dog With a Destiny Read Online Free Page A

clear for all to see. The more laughter Smoky generated, the more she wanted to entertain. Bill felt almost guilty for depriving her of her enthusiastic audience. But Smoky didn’t mind. One look at Bill and she saw home and everything was good again. The children all kissed her goodbye and Bill and Smoky waved as they disappeared back through the jungle and found the pathway onto the main track. It was a surreal moment but another little miracle in the centre of the hostilities. A moment that, in any other time and circumstance, would have been ordinary. But not here and not now.
    The more Smoky established herself in the camp, the higher her profile became and there were always jealous eyes on her. She was small and cute. She was friendly and talented. And, although there were other canine mascots adopted by the soldiers, Smoky stood out from the crowd. It seemed that keeping her close to him was the only way Bill could be sure she would remain safe. The risk of losing her was too great to take.
    Smoky’s tricks became part of the daily entertainment in the camp, especially in the print room where Bill worked. Their impromptu shows were a welcome distraction from the pressure of the job and the fear that resulted from the random snippets of news they received about the status of the Japanese invasion and the war beyond their far-away section of the Pacific. Of course, news of Smoky’s talents spread beyond the confines of the 26th Camp and it didn’t take long for Yank Down Under magazine to track man and dog down. The magazine had launched a mascot competition and was keen for Bill to enter Smoky even though the squadron had already entered its existing mascot, a monkey called Colonel Turbo. At first, Bill was reluctant to take up the challenge. He could think of all the reasons why Smoky should not be entered into the competition but he was underestimating the enthusiasm of the dog’s fan base. Bill had to concede due to public demand and once he had done that he wanted the image they sent to the magazine to be perfect. Ideas fluttered into his head until his mind was buzzing with winning shots of Smoky as a military mascot. First he grabbed his helmet and put it on the ground. He knew Smoky would jump right in as she would be expecting a bath, and she loved baths. Bill took the shots himself and was very pleased with the results – Smoky looked so happy to be there and she adored being the centre of attention. But for the next idea, Bill was going to need some help.
    The idea was to photograph Smoky descending by parachute. A creative idea, but with one problem: they needed a parachute, or at least a part of one to make the shot believable. Everyone was keen for Smoky to win the competition and besides, it made a pleasant diversion from the other off-duty pastimes. Within no time at all a ‘find Smoky a parachute’ project team had formed with Bill at its helm. The first item called in was the pilot’s parachute which was quickly adapted to Smoky’s size and then a collection of belts were added to create a harness. Bill then took a little time out with Smoky to practise the swinging to-and-fro movements so she wouldn’t be spooked later on. In the meantime, it was agreed that the drop needed to be about thirty feet from a tree with Bill and a buddy ready to catch the dog in a GI blanket at the bottom. Branches were sawn off a nearby tree to accommodate the parachuting dog and in no time at all, Smoky was in Bill’s safe hands in the tree. The plan worked perfectly and the men knew they had the shots they wanted. Smoky seemed so happy as a parachute dog that they couldn’t resist doing it a few more times, just for fun. What the men hadn’t noticed was the slight breeze that had been so helpful up until now was growing stronger and with Smoky set for her final drop, the wind caught the chute, which collapsed and then swept the tiny ‘para’ off course. Free falling at speed, Smoky yelped in panic. She