The Small Dog That Changed The World

There were many ancient tribes that lived upon the earth many thousands of years ago. They were large, thriving civilisations that have completely vanished off the face of the earth.

However, those civilisations where advanced and lived in big cities as we do today. They had strong economies and traded with other cities around the world.

Their trading vessels carrying many goods and gold to trade for spice and other commodities. Food was a big trade commodity as it was required to feed these huge cities.

A particular family had a lot of control in one of these cities of all the trade. They had proved to give fair prices and they always knew who to go to get whatever anyone wanted.

One day an old man came to the family to ask for help. He wanted a dog. One of the teenage boys from the family spoke to him and laughed.

There are so many dogs in the street, he had said. You can pick as many as you like and take them home with you.

But the old man was after a very specific type of dog and he was willing to pay a lot of money for it as well. So much money that the boy felt out of his depth dealing with such a request.

And so, he went to fetch his father to ask him if it was possible to get this dog for the old man. His father had the same suggestion of just getting a dog from the street but then realised that there was money to be made here which always got him interested.

The dog had come to the old man in a dream. It was small and white and had brown bits on its face. It was ferocious despite it's size and it was great for hunting out rats and killing them.

The father frowned as he had never heard of such a dog. But he knew many dog breeders around the world and so he was sure that he would manage to find this dog.

He asked the old man how he knew of such a dog. The old man replied that he had seen it in a dream.

The father snickered and asked him how he expected to find this dog when it only lived in the old man's dream. But the old man was insistent.

His dream was more than a dream. It was a premonition and this dog would be his loyal companion till his final days on earth.

The father promised to seek out the dog and send a message with his trading vessels to see if this dog could be found.

A few weeks later, a message came back from one of his vessels that was laden with grain for the city. They had found such a dog that lived among the people in what is now known as Britain.

It was scruffy but loyal. It was a great guard dog because it would always make noise whenever someone approached the house or even if a stranger approached the village.

It was a great companion dog and loved to snuggle up with any of its family members. It had a huge attitude despite its small size. The father clapped his hands in delight.

He sent word to the old man that he had found his dog and if he was still willing to pay what he had originally offered then he would collect one of their next trip to the foreign land.

The old man was excited. Despite only seeing this dog in his dream, and believing that it existed, he still had a few doubts himself.

The father gave the command to collect a breeding pair of these dogs on the next voyage.

The captain thought it was a strange request but then he had brought many strange and wonderful things back on their ships and so it wasn't really that unusual. They did think it was a waste of money mind you.

A few more weeks passed and one of the trading families many vessels finally returned with two pairs of the dogs. To the father's surprise, the captain was insistent on keeping one pair of the dogs himself.

He was willing to pay a handsome sum of money for them as well. Surprised, the father asked why he was so insistent on these particular dogs.

The captain explained that the dogs had got loose from their cage on the ship and basically cleared out all the rats onboard.

They were excellent little hunters and because they where small, they managed to get into small spaces where the rats where hiding.

The father thought for a moment and realised the value of the dogs in keeping his trading vessels clean from vermin and disease.

The rats had always been a big problem but they had never managed to find a solution. The father exclaimed that he would breed the dogs and then begin distributing them to all his vessels.

When he told this to the old man, he was very sad. He was getting older and was desperate to have his new companion at his side.

And so, he agreed that he would look after the dogs and breed and rear the litter. He could then keep one of the puppies for free in return for his services.

The old man was delighted with this plan and turn of events. After all, he wouldn't have to give up all his life savings to buy a dog.

And so, the old man bred the dogs and each captain received one of the puppies for his ship.

Within a year, all the traders ships had one or more of these little white dogs running around on the ship, killing rats and being a loyal companion to the captain.

They brought so much joy and love to what can be a desolate job, sailing around the world, fighting pirates and meeting other aggressive natives in different lands.

The father couldn't believe how much difference a little white dog could make to someone's life. His own children had insisted on keeping one for themselves.

He could see the joy it brought to them. He understood now why the old man was willing to pay so much money for one.

The old man noticed how when he followed his heart, he was rewarded in many different ways.

And by following his heart, many others had received a priceless gift as well.

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