Chapter 6

Rock reunion

Spring arrived - and so did a letter out of the blue.

It was addressed simply to: Owners of Saturday Rock Dog, Cannock.

That was all it said on the envelope. But in just a few months Cuch had become somewhat of a local celebrity after several Saturday night sessions at the Tackeroo.

The postman had no problem identifying the house.

Janine opened the letter, curious to know who had taken the trouble to write. It read:

“Hi,

You don’t know me, but I think you may have found my dog.

Someone told me about ‘Cuch’ dancing on U Tube and recognised him straight away.

About a year ago my girlfriend dumped him somewhere after a row. She said I loved the dog more than her (I did). She admitted dumping him, but refused to tell me where she had left him.

His name is Bayley. I named him after a friend of mine Blaze Bayley who used to sing with Iron Maiden. We both grew up in Tamworth.

I always used to play rock music in my house (my girlfriend hated that too).

I don’t know whether dogs can recognise different types of music, but maybe your Cuch reacted as he did because the music reminded him of his life with me. Maybe it gave him happy memories! Perhaps that’s why he danced? Who knows?

I am just so pleased to see that he looks happy.

I would love to see Bayley (Cuch) again. I would not dream of taking him away from you.

If you would consider letting me see him again, please call me on the number at the top of this letter.

Thank you for taking such good care of him - and congratulations by the way on your excellent music taste.

Paul”

Janine rushed into the lounge to show Alex and Lucas the letter. She wasn’t sure whether it was good or bad news.

It was Lucas who looked particularly scared.

“What if he really wants him back?” he said. “What if he doesn’t mean what he says?

“What if Cuch meets him and wants to go home with him?”

His parents looked thoughtful. This was a tough one to deal with.

“We’ll talk to him on the phone. If we think he’s genuine we should let him see the dog,” Alex eventually said.

“He’s legally ours anyway - and it would be interesting to see Cuch’s reaction.”

“But not here,” Janine added. “We don’t want him to know where Cuch lives - just in case.”

So it was eventually agreed. Alex would ring the guy and invite him to meet Cuch and the family at Cannock Park that weekend.

Lucas had reservations and a knot of fear in his stomach, but he agreed - so long as he could hold tight on the lead all the time.

When he told Tom, Louis and Grace all of them insisted they come too as a show of support.

“Could a dog really associate rock music with its former owner?” Grace said.

“Just as well his last owner wasn’t into Country and Western,” Louis replied. “He’d never have seen the dog again in that case. Not gonna get any Country and Western at Lucas’s house.”

Lucas gave a tentative laugh. He was still apprehensive about the meeting, but the thought of his mom and dad listening to Country and Western was reason enough to smile.

Everyone piled into the family estate car that Saturday.

Alex had spoken to Paul and insisted he sounded OK. They’d arranged to meet at the park at 2pm.

It was a lovely spring day so there were several people at the park when they arrived.

Lucas kept Cuch tightly on the lead as they got out of the car, even though he was clearly excited and itching to run around.

“How are we going to spot him?” Lucas said.

“He says he’s 40, he’ll be wearing jeans and a denim jacket,” Alex told him. “And he says he’ll bring his CD player and play some suitable music...”

Then - from a pathway to their right came the unmistakeable sounds of Iron Maiden, with their former front man Blaze Bayley’s vocals blasting across the park. Ironic, Janine thought, since Blaze had performed an open air gig in this very park with his new band a few years ago.

Cuch’s ears pricked up - then woosh - he was gone - gone in an instant. He took off so suddenly that the lead was snatched out of Lucas’s hand just as he feared.

Cuch was making a beeline towards the sound. They could see a guy sitting on a bench about 100 yards away with a portable CD player, but Cuch was going to get there long before they could catch up.

The scene was spectacular.

Even from that distance away they could hear the man shriek ‘Bayley!’

And even as he turned the music off the dog leapt and twirled with delight, leaping up into Paul’s arms.

Lucas’s spirits sank. It was plain for all to see. The dog recognised and loved Paul.

No-one could get a chance to speak for quite a while.

The reunion was worth of an Oscar performance. Paul and the dog were ecstatic and it was difficult to say who was fussing who the most.

Lucas and the family eventually introduced themselves. Lucas was just happy that at least Paul hadn’t run off with the dog.

“Thank you so much for bringing him,” Paul said - clearly in tears and still holding the dog in his arms.

Grace caught Lucas’s eye and gave a sympathetic smile, a smile that said ‘I know how you must feel when you love someone so much’.

Paul was well spoken, dark haired and attractive for his age - which hadn’t gone un-noticed by Janine.

Eventually Cuch calmed down and everyone was able to talk.

Cuch’s lead was safely back in Lucas’s hand and he almost cried with relief when Paul announced slightly sheepishly that he was back with the girlfriend from hell, so could never trust her with the dog again.

‘At least he’s not going to ask for Cuch back. He wouldn’t do that with her there’ Lucas thought.

“I’m just so pleased to have met you and so happy to know he’s OK,” Paul said.

Janine told him Cuch was found in Birmingham.

“I searched the streets of Tamworth night after night calling his name. I put posters up in the town - but I had no idea she’d dumped him so far away,” Paul told her.

“Obviously she did it deliberately so I wouldn’t find him again.

“He wasn’t microchipped, so after weeks of searching I thought ‘that’s it. I’ll never see him again’. But not knowing what had become of him was just awful.

“I’d had him as a puppy from the border collie rescue centre near Rugeley,” Paul said. “He’ll be four in July.”

Paul said how great the border collie rescue centre is - but then he heard how grim things were at the centre where Cuch was found and it seemed to really upset him.

He obviously couldn’t bear to think of Cuch stuck in a sad, cold cell.

But he laughed and laughed to hear about Cuch’s antics at the Tackeroo.

“Did you ever notice how he loved your music?” Lucas asked.

“He always used to prance around the room with me, but I just put it down to Bayley being excited,” Paul said.

“If I danced he pranced too. It never occurred to me he liked the music! I thought he’d do the same if I put opera on (not that I would),” he laughed.

“I think maybe his fond memories were stirred,” Janine said.

Eventually the time came to leave and Lucas began to feel really anxious.

Would Cuch want to leave now he’d found Paul again?

“Do keep in touch,” Janine said with a flirty smile, passing her mobile number (which didn’t go down too well with Alex).

“You know we’ll take good care of him.”

“Go on boy. You go with Lucas. Love you boy. See you again,” Paul said.

“Tell you what,” Janine said.

“Why don’t you come to the next rock gig with us? You deserve to be there. After all, you’re the one who started all this.

“Just don’t bring your girlfriend!”

“I’d love to,” Paul said. “I’ll give you a call.”

There were hugs and handshakes all round.

“We’ll call him Cuch Bayley from now on,” Lucas told Paul.

“Why shouldn’t he have a second name? We do.”

Paul looked delighted, laughed and gave Cuch one last love before walking back to his car.

He was sad, but happy at the same time.

A hole in his heart had been mended.

Lucas felt almost guilty as Cuch trotted off with his new family.

Occasionally as they walked away Cuch would look back, give a little whimper, then head down, would trot on again.

“He was nice,” Janine said as they all settled in the car.

“Hmmm,” was all Alex could manage.

Grace smiled at Lucas again. He smiled back, relieved and happy.

But Tom and Louis had noticed how their eyes met.

The boys exchanged a knowing smile to each other. And just this once they decided not to tease.

“Wonder if we will see Paul again?” Janine asked.