In August of 2005, I went to work at a defunct sugar plant. Some time later, and I wish I could remember the date but I can’t, I acquired Bug. I didn’t so much acquire Bug as that she was dumped there by another unconscionable idiot. They seem to abound in our area.
For the 2 ½ years that I worked there, Bug and Olivia, along with Sadie for a short time were the “yard dogs”. They had the run of the over 1600 fenced acres and took full advantage of it. They always came home to eat though and to spend their evenings at the guard shack.
Bug’s greatest delight, as previously documented, was to chase semis and catch them by their mud flaps. She never did win the tug-o’-war but she never quit playing, either. She scared the bejeepers out of more than a couple of truck drivers and amused even more.
Olivia got into rat poison at a nearby feedlot and nearly died, finally just failing to come home one night during pheasant season. I know in my heart of hearts that she is dead. If she were not dead, she would have come home. That‘s the kind of dog she was.
Bug got snakebit saving Sadie from a snake and nearly died. It is not an easy place to survive.
When my job ended there, I could not take Bug home with me. Duck and Holly are not huge fans of Bug, nor she of them. Bug went to my daughter’s house. She is not friends with Julie’s dogs but they have reached an understanding.
Bug is a hunter. Even when well fed, she is a hunter. She hunts, successfully, birds, rabbits, snakes, skunks, goats, cats, birds, and anything smaller than she is. She also brings home carcasses in various states of decay. She is not actually a pet. She is a dog who just happens to belong, more or less, to my family because no one else would take responsibility for her.
Bug also loves children and they love her. I used to have customers who would stop by when they were out running errands just so their kids could see the “buggie”. I have NEVER seen her so much as raise a lip at a child, even those that I probably would have bitten.
We have talked about finding Bug a home. The problem is he whole hunting thing. She cannot live anywhere near livestock. A friend of Julie’s has a friend with a farm. It is a “target-rich environment”, full of squirrels and jackrabbits and with a Collie to play with. It is 30 miles from us. It seemed ideal but we just never got around to taking her there.
The other day, when we returned to my daughter’s, Bug had a treasure. Moose got the Walmart bag and went to get the cat carcass to put in the dumpster. This was not a cat. It was a small, collared dog - someone’s pet. We looked at her treasure, looked at each other, and decided it was time for Bug to move. In her defense, there was no fresh blood. I think she just found a carcass in the alley and brought it home.
I choose to believe it.
I especially choose to believe it today. Two days ago, Bug went to her new home, 30 miles away. Today, Julie turned the corner onto her street and Bug came running to meet her. It only took her two days to find her way home - and home she is. We contacted her new owners and they did not bring her home. They did not even know she was missing and suggested we might have just mistaken another dog for her. Not likely.
We have granted her another chance since I simply cannot have her put down as a pet killer. I'm tired of being the responsible pet person so I will not have her put down. Not Bug. Not now. Hopefully not ever.
8 comments:
oh my gosh, that's crazy. i can't believe she found her way home!!! she missed her jules! :*) i hope she is on her best behavior.
I'm not surprised she found her way home. Obviously, the new owners weren't paying much attention.
I hope things work out. Maybe there is someone else out there who really wants her.
thanks for your comments. It turns out she was playing with the owner's kids on Tuesday evening and just didn't show up for breakfast on Wednesday morning. The new owner assumed she was out hunting.
So, now, it's 30 miles in one day. One friggin' day. She is a little foot sore but none the worse for wear. She is not talking to Jules, which is really funny, but she is talking to me. She ran all that way home to Jules and when Jules calls her, she looks at her, turns her head, and saunters in the other direction.
God, I love this dog.
That girl holds a grudge! Can't say i blame her! lol
Bug is bug is bug....y'all will be happy to know she is talking to me again and attempted to join us at the "Relay for Life" event last night. I loaded up Lexi (who needs the socialization) and off we went, watching Bug chase after us in the rear view mirror.....Bug just loves to run, i might change her name to "Forrest"
they hunt; it's what they do. you can't put her down for those instincts. but maybe she'll need to be confined a bit? maybe that's not possible.
but my goodnesss.... a determined little dog.
i love it.
Thanks for your comments. Bug's middle name should be Harry, as in Houdini. We have never been able to contain her. She is an escape artist par excellence. Her very favorite trick is to rig an out from her yard (it usually takes us a couple of weeks to find her way out) and then she just goes around to the front yard to lay on the porch and wait. She just likes to prove that she can.
the fact that she is so wonderful to kids speaks favorably of her
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