There is a wild part to Bud, an almost feral and instinctive streak that probably comes from having live out in a steel pen outside and exposed to the elements for most of his life.

But is lucky to be alive, his pen mates didn’t make, that’s how Friends Of Homeless Animals got to know of him and went out to save him.

He is a small dog, and I don’t think of small dogs as being wild. But Bud reminds me of Frieda much more than the border collies.

We  have this new routine in the morning – I take him out to train him every day -and when we walk past the sheep feeder, he looks at me as if to get permission and then takes off down the hill, under the gate to Lulu’s Crossing and and out into the far pasture, out of sight, as far as the photo goes.

The first few times he did this, I was alarmed. There are coyotes back there, and he might run off and get lost in the woods, which go back a long ways.

I would call out to him, and in about 10 seconds, he would appear out of the far woods and come charging back to me. Every time, and right away.

His recall is 100 per cent, although it sometimes takes a second or two. It takes about 2,000 repetitions before a dog is really trained in a command, and most people give up long before that. I won’t. We’re a third of the way there.

In an odd way, he reminds me a little of Buck, the dog in the classic Call Of The Wild, the inspiration for me e-book: Rose, The Story Of A Man And His Dog.

I never imagined that a Boston Terrier could remind me of the big dog Buck in Jack London’s book, but he is bigger than he seems. Perhaps many small dogs are.

Bud has several wild traits. He chases after things – chickens, cats, sheep, but never harms them. He eats animal droppings – dogs, sheep, donkeys, I imagine this is how he survived in that pen.

Initially, he marked everything in the house, and it has taken him awhile to figure out what he can chew inside and what he can. I’ve had several visits to the shoe repair shop in Bennington, Vt.

There is some risk to Bud running out to far, although it is an integral part of our daily routine now. I trust Bud, I believe you have to trust a dog to train a dog well and keep the dog grounded. But is a wild thing in many ways – if it’s raining, he’ll take a dump in our bathroom rather than go outside, at least at first.

But he is also a sweet thing, if the wild thing is present, so is the loving dog who wants very much to be in a family with food and things to chew on and shelter.

I make sure he has things to chew on several times a day. It calms him and brings him closer to us and his new life.

This photo captured his morning travels. He is a dog who needs to run. It was eight degrees this morning, and Bud would still be out there sniffing if I hadn’t called him back.

Bud surprises me and challenges me. You can’t let other people define the boundaries of your dog, you have to see it and live it yourself. I won’t give Bud free reign to his wildness, but I won’t smother it either.