Set during the first season. James discovers that Tristan also has a favorite dog - or maybe one of the dogs has a favorite human?
Skeldale was always quiet in the afternoon. Usually two of the vets would have house calls during this period of time and would therefore return home at different hours. The last one would be dealing with the clinic, and they would all meet up in the living room and go over the events of the day while waiting for tea to be served. This particular day Tristan had been left at home and when James returned at around four o'clock, he found that he was first to get back since Siegfried's car was nowhere to be seen. Quietly whistling to himself, James went into the house and peeked into surgery in search of Tristan. To his surprise he found himself face to face with Mrs. Hall whom was about to leave, carrying a bucket full of bloody water.
"Mrs. Hall" James said and looked the housekeeper up and down, "Is everything all right? What has happened?"
The housekeeper put the bucket down and smiled reassuringly at the younger man,
"Nothing to worry about Mr. Herriot, no harm done" she said and then continued when James looked at the bucket,
"Mr. Tristan had a patient, an awful big sheepdog from one of them farms in the high land. Young Tristan had to stitch a wound and asked farmer to hold the dog – he didn't pay attention and the dog made a leap at Mr. Tristan" at these words James felt his blood run cold. It was every vet's nightmare to be faced with an aggressive dog and from past experience James knew just how much a dog like that could hurt a person.
"Is he alright? Where is he?" he asked. Mrs. Hall regarded him for a second and then said,
"He's in living room, resting. Had to take him to doctor, I had. Awful beast bit'im in the hand and the face"
"But he's alright?" James repeated, not the least bit reassured.
"Ay Mr. Herriot – had not been, if it had not been for that dog of his"
"What dog?" James said, more confused than ever.
"Winston" Mrs. Hall answered, "Mind me that dog has always had a good eye to young Mr. Tristan. Came through the door like a flash and made the other dog back off. Always told Mr. Farnon he was a keeper I did" Mrs. Hall said and with one last look at James picked up the bucket and moved out of the room. For a moment, James stood perfectly still and tried to put all of the pieces together. Tristan had been attacked by a rogue dog, properly scared and in pain, but had been moved out of harm's way by Winston - the loner of the pack whom Siegfried always referred to as 'confused' because he was the worst hunting dog north of the Alps. James smiled, he wondered if Siegfried's opinion of the dog might not change drastically when he was made aware of the incident played out this afternoon? With these thoughts in mind James moved down the hall and peeked into the living room. The room was quiet and filled with the late afternoon sunlight. Tristan was curled up, fast asleep on the settee. Even from the distance, James could clearly make out the bruising around the stitches on Tristan's cheek and eyebrow. Even in his sleep he had his right hand curled protectively to his body, the white of the bandages covering it in sharp contrast to his dark grey jacket. Shaking his head in sympathy, James moved into the room but took a step back when the shadows at the end of the couch suddenly took shape as Winston stood up and regarded him with his dark eyes. The dog moved to the side of the settee with his front against James in a protective stance. Not the least bit afraid of the big dog James relaxed his shoulder and caught the dog's eyes,
"I know you're just doing your job, but it's me and I have his best interest at heart", James said softly and had to smile when Winston tilted his head and wagged his tail one time. Satisfied with the result, James moved to the couch and spared Winston a soft pat on the head before examining Tristan's injuries. The skin was red and looked painful, but the stitching was nicely done and James was certain that it could leave very little scaring, given time. With one last look at Tristan, James moved to the armchair and settled down, waiting for Tristan to wake up or Siegfried to come home, whatever would come first. Winston had also settled down again, this time in front of the couch. When Tristan moved restlessly in his sleep for a moment, the dog lifted his head and pressed his nose into Tristan's uninjured hand, a touch which seemed to calm him down. With his master resting peacefully again, Winston laid his head down on his front paws and regarded James with his dark eyes.
"Atta boy" James simply stated and smiled at the quiet wagging of the tail in response.