Nessie's sadness after the loss of her brother prompted us to seek out a companion for her. And so with the help of friends we adopted the spryest of pups. Ajax came to us at around the age of one ... still a puppy, sweet, shy but bursting with the joy of life. We called him Nessie's dog and she fully accepted ownership. She hovered over him like a new mother protecting him from all dangers real or imagined, such as our friend's dogs, strangers, or any careless miss-step by us humans. Very soon though he became her agile hunting partner and many a squirrel did rue the day.

Ajax is a runner, and fast (the likely cause of his orphan hood). When he first hit our backyard making broad long 4 feet leaps over the sidewalk we were convinced that he could also fly and that he must have been an eagle in a past life. It took a while until we were satisfied that our fence would trump his wanderlust. read more
- Dan Collins