N�rnberg, Mittelfranken, 2006-05-06 - 3:22 a.m.

I just found this picture in inkysoso's diary (inkysoso.diaryland.com)

You see this little child so trustfully sleeping on that dog. - That remembered me to an experience I had when I was about 4 or 5 years old.

Till I was about 10 I lived with my 2 brothers & my parents in a small village called Forsthof near Schwabach. - My parents were German refugees from Poland & Romania after the WWII (my mother's ancestors had immigrated to Romania in the 16th century, while my fathers parents, a preacher's family still were born in Germany, but they went to live in Poland).

This small village where I was raised, was the best that could happen to a little child - the farmyards around us with all the animals, the fields, the meadows, the woods around us were ideal playgrounds for us children, where tv was partly unknown, computers for common use still un-invented. Yes we had fantastic playgrounds to explore - the whole pure nature with all it's mysterious, strange & exuberant manifestations was ready to be adventured.

I was about every day at our closest neighbour's 'Bauernhof' (farmyard) who had some cows, chicken, pigs etc. & I called him 'Onkel Fritz' (Uncle Fritz) & his wife 'Tante Lina' (Aunt Leena) - they've been always very kind to us & gave us children bread & milk & we played in the barn(hiding in the hay), in the stables, were common with the farm animals & rode with the farmer on his cow-driven cart to his fields.

The most farmers in our village were more rude & didn't like children playing around their yards.

A second farmer couple, befriended to my parents I visited more seldom - he was the only one in the village who had horses instead of cows & was transporting wood with his horse driven carts. - He head also an guarding shepard dog, who was often bound to a chain attached to a sandstone dog hut near the entry door, like a lot of farmyards had still in that time. - These dogs were mostly trained to defend the estate & you could only come close to them if the master had introduced you to them, to accept them, while he was there, which didn't mean, that they accepted you, when he wasn't there..

On one of my visits to this elderly farmer's couple with dog & horses, they told me, that the dog had some days ago got some puppy dogs. But they couldn't be seen, because they were still too young to move around still lying in their baby nest built of straw inside the old dog hut (built of sandstone) attached to the house. & of course the mother would defend her babes from anyone who would come to close.

Later I was alone on the farm yard & of course I was curious to see the little doggies, to touch them, to stroke them, so in my 5-year old innocent mind I was quickly decided to visit them at once.

I crawled in the dog hut - the mother dog was somehow excited, but accepted me somehow - seems that I was in good terms with here. Anyway in that age I totally trusted her. So I sat in the dark dog hut with the small rat size, still blind & black little puppies with the dog mother - all happy together & we played family & of course I took them & stroke them & the mother accepted it all.

Later on I visited the dog family sometimes again & I always was welcome there - even in their most intimate living room.

I was long long years later that I got aware, how dangerious that visit could have been. - I would't recommend to anybody to crawl in the hut of a German shepard, raised on a chain to defend property, to visit her puppets. - She could have torn me to pieces! -

& of course she had accepted me little child like one of your own kids, but you can't take it as a rule that dog's don't bite little children. My friend's Uschi's little 4-year old son was bitten directyl in his face by a German shepard dog while the boy was trying to stroke him. & she had lived with that dog in a community for months already...

I must confess that meanwhile somehow I have lost contact to my cute little dog family..

PS:
to get an impression how our old peasant houses in that time looked like may look here:

When I once visited this 'Freilandmuseum' where people could see how all the the old tools & old inventory of old peasant houses there was no surprise for me - I had already seen it all in my early childhood in the old fashioned farms of the 50ies ..

PS II:
I'm relieved, seconds after I had written this entry in my simple text editor & was just about publishing it my computer broke down & I was damn sure that about half of this entry was lost - but - how wonderful - I must have saved some seconds before it broke down - not a single word was lost (now quickly saving again..)