Somewhere in England, in a tumble-down shack, Placid was born. He was a pedigree pit bull, but Placid didn't know that. His owner was a cruel man called Wayward Jack. He bred dogs to fight at illegal dog fights, but Placid didn't know that. If he knew that Wayward Jack wanted him to fight, he would have been horrified. Placid was kind, and gentle. He would not harm any living thing.
Placid grew into a strong and handsome dog. Wayward Jack was convinced he would win fights and make lots of money for him. The dreaded day arrived. Wayward Jack tied a rope round Placid's neck. He took him out to his ancient land rover. He drove into the countryside and stopped outside a farmer's barn. Inside, a group of rowdy men drank beer, flashed money and bawled encouragement at two dogs in mortal combat. Placid was becoming nervous. The fight ended with one dog lying exhausted and wounded on the floor.
It was now Placid's turn.
The man in charge shouted, "As usual Wayward Jack has brought a fine looking animal with him. He will fight Cannonball for a big money prize. Place your bets lads."
Placid and Cannonball faced each other, in readiness for the contest. It would have begun, except Placid lay down and refused to fight. Cannonball rushed towards Placid twice. When his opponent didn't react, he stood there looking confused.
The man in charge was angry, "All bets are off lads. Wayward Jack take that cowardly mutt out of here."
Placid was dragged outside the barn. Wayward jack took a stick and was about to hit Placid with it. His potential victim bared his teeth, barked and threatened to attack his evil owner. Wayward Jack ran away and Placid made off into, what was for him, an unknown world.
For the next few weeks, Placid enjoyed his new found freedom. He scavenged for food from hotel dustbins and drank from rain puddles.
Placid's wonderful way of life came to an abrupt end. While padding along a pavement, a van pulled up beside him. Two uniformed men came out; they muzzled Placid and locked him in the back of the van. These men were from the RSPCA. Someone had phoned them and had said that there was a savage dog running loose in the streets. These men loved animals and cared for them, but Placid didn't know that. He was taken to kennels and put in a cage with other pitiful animals. Some of these dogs were so sad that they whimpered, cried and howled all night. Placid couldn't sleep for the constant noise.
From time to time, parents brought in their children to choose a pet to take home. Some of Placid's fellow prisoners, the lucky ones, left the kennels in the arms of an excited child. As Placid looked so savage, he was never chosen. The parents had heard tales of pit bulls attacking people. Three weeks passed and Placid became more and more depressed. He gave up hope of ever escaping his imprisonment.
One day, a rich lady called Clara Toffeenose visited the rescue centre. She had recently lost her beloved bull terrier who had died from old age. Clara was anxious to find a replacement to take home with her.
Spying the dejected Placid, she called out loud, "I'll eat my hat if this dog is not a thoroughbred pit bull." She asked the keeper if Placid was dangerous.
"Dangerous! no madam, this 'ere pit bull is gentle and 'e is well behaved. You can 'ave me word on that."
"I see he has a collar; my eyesight is not so good, what does it say?"
"It says 'is name is Placid, but it don't 'ave an address."
"Very well, how much is he?"
"'e is free madam, but if you wants to, you can put something in our charity box."
Clara rummaged in her handbag, "Here is fifty pounds, is that sufficient?"
"Thank E madam, most generous of you."
Soon, Placid found himself being driven in a Bentley towards the country estate of Clara Toffeenose.
Placid's new life was completely different from before. He was now being fussed over and mollycoddled. He had tasty meals and a comfortable doggy's bed to sleep in. Clara was grooming him for Crufts, but Placid didn't know that. He became fed up with the constant baths, brushing and nail cutting that he was subjected to. He once had the indignity of sporting a coloured ribbon. On the plus side, he had the run of the estate grounds, but he was not allowed to visit the village without being tethered to a long lead.
The day dawned when Clara took Placid as a competitor to Crufts. Placid was surprised and baffled by the whole affair. The event was held in the town hall. When Placid arrived, all of the proud and ambitious dog owners were already engaged in last minute improvements to the appearance of their entrants. All of them were anxious to impress the judges. The time came for the judging of the bulldog category. Placid was placed on a box, gazed at, prodded and felt all over by the first judge. As the second judge approached, Placid, thoroughly annoyed, rebelled. Jumping off the box, he caused havoc by blundering through the spectators. As he ran for the door, Placid knocked a few of them over.
With glee, Placid returned to his previously happy life. He sniffed at lampposts, rub noses with other dogs and played games with them. After a wonderful two weeks, the inevitable happened. He was captured and returned to the kennels. The attendant phoned Clara Toffeenose and asked her whether she wanted Placid back.
In a hurt voice Clara replied, "Placid made me look a fool in front of all my friends. He was a disappointment to me. No! no! no! I don't want that beastly animal back."
Placid endured a few more weeks of boredom.
Placid's luck changed when two burly men looked at him.
One man said to the other, "He's not the breed we usually work with, but he's a fine looking animal who deserves a chance. Anyway, we'll take him and see how he performs under training."
The two men were rich business men. More importantly, they were also members of a canine disaster search team, but Placid didn't know that.
Placid was about to start on the greatest adventure of his life.
Jim and Teddy Dunlop trained dogs to search for people who had been buried after an avalanche or a tsunami. If Placid was found suitable for the work, he would travel the world, working with firemen and other helpers. Jim would become Placid's main trainer. When training was over for the day, he would take his new pupil to his home. His kind and caring wife Mary was good to Placid and made him feel at home.
Jim and Teddy took Placid to the moors for training. Teddy would hold Placid while Jim went and hid behind boulders and high grasses. Teddy released Placid, who using his sense of smell, and to a lesser extent his hearing, would try to find Jim. Placid proved to be outstanding. He always discovered the hidden Jim quickly.
Jim would pat Placid and say, "Well done Placid, welcome to our team."
A week later, Jim received a phone call. After quickly donning protective clothing, he rushed Placid to his car. Not far from them, a building had been demolished by an explosion. At the disaster zone, Placid rummaged amongst the debris, avoiding the spots still on fire. He scented his first casaulty and barked twice to alert the firemen. To his joy, a young man was rescued from where he was buried. Placid followed this first success by saving two more lives. Sadly his next discovery, a young girl, didn't survive. Afterwards, everyone was full of praise for Placid, and a proud Jim took him home where they were warmly welcomed by Mary.
After this first experience of a disaster zone, Placid rescued people in different countries struck by earthquakes or floods. His biggest test came when a tsunami and earthquake decimated Japan. Placid joined many other search teams called to the disaster. When no more survivors could be found Jim, Teddy and Placid returned home.
In the years that followed, Placid continued his life-saving work. He received: thanks, respect and honours from all over the world, but Placid didn't know that.
Philip's Army is now available to purchase on the Amazon Kindle from multiple countries.
Book Number ASIN: B008R7DD20
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