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No.45. in my series of short stories
In the vast and rugged landscape of Western Australia, a charismatic and adventurous Kelpie mix dog roams the mining towns and open roads.
It was 1978 when we were travelling Australia with our family and caravan when we pulled into the Karratha Caravan Park in the light industrial area around 7 klms out of the Karratha township. We lived in the park for around 6months waiting to get a rental in town, every now and then this dog would show up, apparently it was when he also had arrived in town, he usually would come by road train (truck).
Several months into our stay we were told that this dog was called Red Dog and he was a local legend.
To think that he would jump down from a truck push his way under the boundary fence of the caravan park and hop under our van into the shade for a snooze. My children would feed and water him, sometimes hose him down to cool him off, he would lay around for a few hours then go to someone else's van for another hand out. He was fed a good variety of eats on his lap around the park and then he was gone again. Over a few years we would see him in and around the town always acknowledging us and enjoying a bit of attention then he was nowhere to be seen.
Since moving to Tasmania I have painted around 50 paintings called My Red Dog. (My story) Series and he is in them all. My personal thoughts were that he had a lifetime of stinking heat in the North West of WA and he in my mind would come with me for a cooler life style.
My paintings depict him following me on my bike to all the places I have explored in Tasmania just like I did in the Pilbara, though this time he was with me in thought and not freeloading a lift off a truckie.
Though Red Dog is no longer with us he is helping to keep me going in my art by being included in my memoirs.
In memory of RED DOG.