They are playing his song!

Barney T Rubble is an Akita puppy, only 2 years old. We ‘discovered’ this beautiful breed of dog, totally by accident over 8 years ago when we found another Akita who, to us looked like a very dirty, unloved huge hairy non descript beast – and we brought him home to Peyia.

Jake, the hairy beast in question, was our first experience of the quirks and loving heart within the hugeness of these special animals. Sadly, Jake was a ‘special dog’ who had an inoperable brain tumour and whose short life, (he lived with us just over 3 years), was blighted with illness and , in his last months, epilepsy and cluster fits. We were heartbroken to lose him but so deeply grateful to him for his love and care for us, despite how he was feeling and had been treated by the previous, I won’t call them humans, who had lived with him…..

Barney T Rubble was only 7 weeks old when we set eyes on him and it was love at first sight. We met his Mum, Gossip and his father, Chess and we’ve had the honour of being his people for over 2 years now.

A person who doesn’t know this breed, cannot imagine the mystical ‘singing’ which comes from these beasts.. I cannot call them ‘howls’ : they are so very much more soulful than that. Whilst Jake was very vocal and had a song in his heart for most hours of the day, Barney is more quiet and sings mainly to accompany the church bells as they chime in the village of Peyia , early mornings. His songs ring out across the stillness of the village and touch my heart: its also a stunning sight to watch this huge beast sit proudly and let his voice soar to the heavens…..

Today, the bells rang out but Barney sat silently, looking sadly out at the world. Maybe in his doggy heart, he understand that people are complicated and some, doing terrible things so it wasn’t a morning to sing….

We’ll wait for the next chime of the bells and hope that Barneys soul sings out with love – and that more of us join him in his ‘voice’.