"I'm sorry," said the clerk in flower
shop, "we don't have potted geraniums. Could you use African violets
instead?"
Replied
the customer sadly, "No, it was geraniums my wife told me to water while
she was gone."
Recently my neighbors across from me lost their dog. The dog
was with them for 14 years and all the trials and tribulations a family goes
through, faithfully at their side. It got me remembering my dog, ‘Happy’.
Happy was an admitted misnomer; she was anything but happy
with strangers, she just didn't like them. Being a house dog we never let her
bark outside, she was trained to ring a bell at the foot of the door she used
when she needed to conduct her business and only went out on a leash for walks.
But ‘Happy’ was a smart dog: she was a faithful companion
and the only dog that loved lettuce. We never fed her from table scraps so her
diet was always the same, and this bothered me, since she was a pedigree American Cocker Spaniel that was the order of the
vet. But once in a while, when TLW (The Little Woman) wasn’t looking, Id feed
her (Happy) something new, and she would go wild for it. While cleaning the plates off
into the garbage, TLW would be looking the other way and I would slip her a
piece of meat, or some pasta or broccoli. She loved it, and we became the best of
friends for it.
Then one Saturday morning:
“JOE!”
“Yes dear.”
“You awake?”
“Yes Dear”
“I went on my computer and it said I had to shut down!”
“Yes Dear”
“So I tried again!”
“Yes Dear”
“I got the same message so I went upstairs to your computer.”
“Yes Dear”
“Oh, by the way, your computer told me something needed more power!”
“Yes Dear”
“And when you go downstairs, Happy was barking at the pool, I think there is an animal in it!”
“Yes Dear”
So I shower and dress, and head downstairs, and stop at the den sliding door. I look out but don’t see anything and think it was a bird that bothered Happy.
“JOE!”
“Yes Dear”
“I think the animal is at the top of the pool steps!”
“Yes Dear”
I go out and investigate, and sure enough, without my first cup of coffee yet, I see what she is barking about, her and Happy.
There, huddled in a corner of the steps of the pool sits a rat! Alive and well but shaking! Now I have to think of how to get rid of it. I see my net on a long poll near by and I pick it up and get a plan. I will scoop the critter, and turn the net to hold the rat in so he can’t escape. I do so, and now I institute my part B of the genius plan, I move the net to a deep part of the pool and hold it down. I look at the rat while I hold down the net, and he’s looking up at me, waiting. I stay my ground and now he is getting anxious! He starts to move around in the net a little, looking for a way out. He is not going out on his own that was for sure. He becomes more frantic and desperate, seeking to escape, when sudden, little bubbles start to rise to the top, from the net. I wait, soon he is slowing down, almost slow motion in movement, when in the end mercy comes to him, and he drowns!
I pull the net and think, what if he is trying to fool me. I look closely but he is dead. Now I have to dispose of him.
I go into the house where TLW is sitting on her recliner.
“Did you get rid of it?”
“Yes Dear, but I need some kind of container, like a margarine tub.”
We look and I find a Kool-Whip tub in the closet and take it out. I realize that it is too small for the rat and return into the den with the tub in hand.
“Isthatthingintheattub?Youbetternotbefoolingaround!JoegetthatoutofherenowI’mnotkiddingdon’tyoudearfoolaround.
“Darn” I think to myself, now I better NOT toss it at her.”
“Yes Dear, but don’t worry, the rat is larger than the tub. I need something larger to toss at you, I mean into the garbage.”
“TAKE A GARBAGE BAG FROM THE PANTRY CLOSET AND USE THAT!”
“Yes dear.”
“You awake?”
“Yes Dear”
“I went on my computer and it said I had to shut down!”
“Yes Dear”
“So I tried again!”
“Yes Dear”
“I got the same message so I went upstairs to your computer.”
“Yes Dear”
“Oh, by the way, your computer told me something needed more power!”
“Yes Dear”
“And when you go downstairs, Happy was barking at the pool, I think there is an animal in it!”
“Yes Dear”
So I shower and dress, and head downstairs, and stop at the den sliding door. I look out but don’t see anything and think it was a bird that bothered Happy.
“JOE!”
“Yes Dear”
“I think the animal is at the top of the pool steps!”
“Yes Dear”
I go out and investigate, and sure enough, without my first cup of coffee yet, I see what she is barking about, her and Happy.
There, huddled in a corner of the steps of the pool sits a rat! Alive and well but shaking! Now I have to think of how to get rid of it. I see my net on a long poll near by and I pick it up and get a plan. I will scoop the critter, and turn the net to hold the rat in so he can’t escape. I do so, and now I institute my part B of the genius plan, I move the net to a deep part of the pool and hold it down. I look at the rat while I hold down the net, and he’s looking up at me, waiting. I stay my ground and now he is getting anxious! He starts to move around in the net a little, looking for a way out. He is not going out on his own that was for sure. He becomes more frantic and desperate, seeking to escape, when sudden, little bubbles start to rise to the top, from the net. I wait, soon he is slowing down, almost slow motion in movement, when in the end mercy comes to him, and he drowns!
I pull the net and think, what if he is trying to fool me. I look closely but he is dead. Now I have to dispose of him.
I go into the house where TLW is sitting on her recliner.
“Did you get rid of it?”
“Yes Dear, but I need some kind of container, like a margarine tub.”
We look and I find a Kool-Whip tub in the closet and take it out. I realize that it is too small for the rat and return into the den with the tub in hand.
“Isthatthingintheattub?Youbetternotbefoolingaround!JoegetthatoutofherenowI’mnotkiddingdon’tyoudearfoolaround.
“Darn” I think to myself, now I better NOT toss it at her.”
“Yes Dear, but don’t worry, the rat is larger than the tub. I need something larger to toss at you, I mean into the garbage.”
“TAKE A GARBAGE BAG FROM THE PANTRY CLOSET AND USE THAT!”
“Yes Dear”
And so, I faced down a rat, a drowning one! RIP (Rat In Place)!
And so, I faced down a rat, a drowning one! RIP (Rat In Place)!
Happy had saved the day! We had cornered and brought to
justice a rat!
My neighbor was lucky, at least his dog died in his home,
Happy died at the vets, and sadly I witnessed a heart crunching set of eyes go
out for ever, and remember the scene like it was an hour ago.
RIP Happy.
LOOKING FOR GREAT GIFT IDEAS FOR YOUR CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN?
Address: 1231 Taft Hwy, Signal
Mountain, TN 37377
Phone:(423) 886-6943
Hours: Open today · 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
DO YOU WATCH THE BIG
BANG THEORY?
You should, it will keep you from barking and disturbing the neighbors!
2 comments:
Awe, so funny with the rat! We used to find "critters"in our pool too.......but our dog of 14 years could give a ----! More playmates for him! But I know, they're so much a part of the family, and sadly, when times up, especially when you have to put one down ...(.we did also) .......every other one over the years died peacefully in the house! It hurts.......then you think "should we get another one?" <3
We've had to take three of our beloved dogs to the vet that same way, but it was always peaceful and they went knowing we were there with them til they were gone, loved to the end. No more suffering. Sad, but they are always in my memory, the fun more memorable than the sadness of their passing. We'll never forget any of them.
Roger
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