So you’ve decided to move to the country where man’s best
friend loves to bring his master a variety of gifts…
We are all familiar with the dogs that bring newspapers,
mail and slippers, but are you familiar with what the country dog fetches?
This is my reality of owning a dog in the country.
As I may have mentioned before, it is common knowledge among
the ‘old timers’ in these here parts that the only ‘good’ dog is a cattle dog…however
a coyote would beg to differ as they seem to prefer the Yorkies and Chihuahuas,
but I digress. So once you’ve decided you are comfortable with your country
existence, you can walk in boots without stumbling, your Wranglers have broken
in enough to sit down AND breath, and you don’t roll up your car window when
you see a snake because you now know they cannot jump into your car…it is at
this point you think you are ready for a dog.
Hunting for the perfect country dog to add to your perfect
country life can be a bit challenging. After pouring through the buy n sell and
visiting animal shelters you’re neighbor tells you that they have a friend of a
friend that had a litter of mixed breed puppies, assuring you the whole time
they are perfect for the country.
A few weeks later you pick up your cute bundle of fur and
discover the first drawback to country dogs…fleas. Ick. After $100 in medicated
shampoos and salves, along with some good scrubbing, you can now claim that
your puff ball is flea free. As puppies grow fast, so does their curiosity. Within
a few months the pastures are your dog’s kingdom. With all this canine wandering
comes a new delight…ticks. More money on different medicated shampoos and drops
and soon your dog is tick free. Finally flea free and tick free and blessedly potty
broken, the new addition is allowed to wander the house, until one day you
discover the remains of what clearly was once your coveted pair of Manolo pumps,
chewed almost beyond recognition and definitely beyond repair. Inside dog
becomes outside dog.
Here in lies the problem with the inside vs outside dog
thing. Wyatt adheres strictly to the rule that a dog is a man’s best friend; he
was not concerned with the destruction of my favorite pair of pumps, nor did he
seem moved by the receipt I produced for said pumps. As far as he is concerned
man’s best friend belongs by his side while watching tv, snoozing on the couch
or raiding the fridge – all popular weekend sports for many men.
One night, while enjoying the blanket of stars that covered
our little town, man’s best friend decided to bring Wyatt a gift. Giving wide
berth to my position (good thinking) country dog snuggles up to Wyatt. A telltale
‘I told you so’ smirk on Wyatt’s face clearly showing that man’s best friend
preferred man. No, duh! If a crazy woman had chased me with a chewed up high
heel I would avoid her too!
Now, I will have to back up a bit in this story to give you
some back history on country dogs previous generous gifts. They have included,
but are not limited to, praying mantis, snake, vole, mouse, toad, bird,
squirrel, and many unidentifiable items, better left unidentified.
So armed with this valuable knowledge and clearly noting how
proud country dog was of the gift he was about to bestow upon Wyatt, I backed
up just a bit. Wyatt scratches country dogs ears and country dog opens his
mouth and deposits his present at Wyatt’s feet. I’m pretty sure I screamed, if
I didn’t, I should have. Country dog brought Wyatt what was left of a calf
hoof, with fur attached…not the kind you buy in the store, no this was the real
McCoy!
Country dog lived to a ripe old age…outside!
By, Charity Maness
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