Jenny and I had always been animal lovers. After all, we had been brought up on a farm and were, literally, surrounded by them. Now in our late twenties with failed marriages behind each of us, we had decided to live together in the country and devote our time and energy to their care and protection. It was a case of wanting to put into practice what we preached and believed in, for both of us were active members of animal rights charities and had been for many years.
Fortunately, the money from our respective divorce settlements had been just enough to pool our resources and buy a suitable place where we both could live. We looked long and hard for months before the ideal property cropped up. But, eventually, it did, a small farm house with outbuildings and land near Swindon. It was a bit outside our price range but with the help of a bank loan we could just about afford it. Also, upon inspection, we could see that with a modest amount spent on modifications and equipment we could have what we had set our hearts on ... a care and rescue centre for animals.
Jenny was my twin sister and my mirror image. Both of us were fairly tall, blonde and well, yes, very pretty. Also, although it's not relevant to the story I am about to tell you, we did a fair bit of modelling in our younger days. Luckily, back then, you didn't have to be stick insects to do modelling work. And, I know I am not bragging in the slightest, when I say that we were young and healthy and had the figures to go with it. That meant small waists, pert bottoms, full generous breasts and long shapely legs. In other words, we were the epitome of female beauty. We also won several beauty competitions in our prime including Miss Devon, Miss Lovely Legs and Most Beautiful Booty, either in our own right, or, as most beautiful twins. And, even now, in our late twenties, we have managed to keep our lithesome figures.
On the other hand, when came to choosing husbands, we both did rather badly. We ended up with handsome arrogant brutes and suffered the same miseries. Unfortunately, the guys we fell for turned out to be nothing but male chauvinist pigs, taking us for granted and treating us like dirt. Both of us got cheated on and were used like unpaid housemaids. The trouble was, that because of our docile and subservient natures, our partners were able to walk all over us. We didn't seem to have the strength of character to stick up for ourselves. Eventually, after putting up with our miserable lives for long enough we decided to make a stand. With our parents help, we employed private detectives and collected the necessary evidence of infidelity. It was finally a relief to get out of the marriages and be independent again, even though we got less than we would have liked from the divorce.
A few months later we had completed the purchase of the property and were up and running. And, although neither of us had much of a business head, or, were especially good with figures, we were rather proud of having got our project started. What we didn't take into account, however, was the week by week cost of keeping the place ticking over. As the weeks and months went by, we found we were struggling to keep our heads above water. It got to a point where uncomfortable decisions had to be taken. For example, both our cars had to go and we had to settle for a second hand van that had seen better days.
In those early days we kept all kinds of animals on the premises, dogs, cats, ducks, geese, rabbits, ponies, pigs, goats and horses. The list just seemed to go on and on. I think the locals just saw us as a kind of dumping ground for their unwanted animals. Also, when we started up, we had two or three young girls helping out at pathetically low rates of pay. They were the kind of girls who loved animals and would have probably worked for nothing given the chance. However, as the weeks went by and college enrolment beckoned, we lost all but one, a sweet 18 year old local girl called Amy. She continued to come two or three days a week even though some weeks we couldn't pay her any wages. Fortunately, she seemed to come from a well to do family who were glad enough to have the girl occupied in something she enjoyed doing. Every now and then, we allowed her to sleepover in the hayloft. Her folks didn't seem to mind when she stayed with us.
Looking back, I could see that we were incredibly naïve about all sorts of things. We were looked upon as kind hearted softies who couldn't turn anything down. The trouble was that the more we took in, the higher went the feeding costs and our visits to the local vet became more frequent. Fortunately, he was a sympathetic and kind hearted soul who gave us special rates.
Also our local food supplier, Mr Josephs, was equally as generous with the supply and charges for animal food. It was he who suggested who we should go to when the alterations to our outbuildings and the setting up of the compounds was necessary. As a result, all the work was done speedily and at a satisfactory cost.
Then, one day when we were out in the yard feeding the rabbits Mr. Josephs van swung onto our parking area with the weekly food order. He had some bad news for us. "This is the last time I shall be delivering to you I am afraid," he told us as he carried the various bags and sacks in to our food store. "I will be retiring from my business at the end of this week." He went on to explain that his wife was not in good health and they had decided to move to be with her brother who lived in Jersey. "It's all a bit sudden," he told us apologetically "but we've made our decision so that's that."
Jenny and I looked at each other anxiously when we heard this news. We had both thought the same thing at the same time. Where would we get at our food supplies, now and how much extra would it cost us?
As it turned out, our fears were well justified, because, when we made enquiries there was only one supplier in the area we could go to, a Mr. Ralph Jackman, who, unfortunately, didn't have the best of reputations. Unfortunately, for better or worse we were stuck with him.
We got our first look at him the following week when he turned up with our order. He was a bit more expensive than his predecessor, but, there was nothing that we could do about it. The animals had to have their food.
He was a rough looking chap, powerfully built, with a greasy, dark complexion and a seemingly permanent sneer plastered across his face. He was also very nosey and after unloading our supplies, proceeded to have a good look round the premises. I remember that on that day he was wearing a cut off T shirt and as he walked around. I remember noticing various tattoos on his arms and even on the back of his neck.
Jenny and I disliked him on first sight. From the way he talked and acted, he reminded us of the sort of man we had been desperate to get away from.
One morning, after unloading our animal food order, he started to wander around. Jenny and I were busy carrying the bags into our storeroom when we heard the dogs growling and barking followed by a shout and string of obscenities from Jackman. As we ran to the scene, we saw him holding a bloodstained arm and trying to hold off one of our dogs. Jenny immediately ushered the dog away and tied him up as he continued to bark at our visitor. As she turned, our eyes met and I knew that we were thinking the same thing. Rex, the dog in question, was only here in the first place because Jenny had pleaded for him the last time he had got in trouble for the very same thing. Then, it had been a postman in a nearby village who had suffered as he had opened a garden gate. There had been talk of putting him down until Jenny had offered to take him and look after him. Since then, my soft hearted sister had grown to love the dog. Now we both looked at Jackman and the injury the dog had caused.
"That fucking dog bit me," he whined. "Just look at that," he said pointing to teeth marks and the blood on his arm. There was no doubt that the dog had bitten him and I suggested that we go inside so I could see to the wound. So while Jenny quietened down the dogs and locked them up in the pen I got out the first aid box and started to clean up the wound.
"How long is it since you had a tetanus jab?" I asked as I bandaged him up.
"I can't remember," he growled.
"Well, you had better pop into the doctors and get one," I advised him, "just to be on the safe side."
"Yeah" he replied. "And, at the same time, I'll report that vicious fucking dog to the authorities and get the damn thing put down."
Jenny appeared in the open doorway just in time to hear his threat. It was what she had feared.
"Oh no," she wailed ..."not that, please...he's not used to strangers that's all. There's no harm in him, really."
