“Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: PUPPY DELIGHTS: ONE LUCKY SQUIRREL

Posted byRobert K Stephen (CSW)Posted inCanadian serialized fiction., Pet OwnershipTags:, , ,

PUPPY DELIGHTS: ONE LUCKY SQUIRREL

A cloudy and windy November day. Was it Jimmy Cliff that sang,” I can see clearly now”…. A wonderful day for visuals. I can see crystal clear.

And 50 feet ahead of me through the glass sliding door I see it. The motherlode! A black squirrel flicking its tail and munching on a black walnut. That swishing bushy tail attracts me like a matador’s red cape attracts a bull. Bob sees me staring intently at the black creature! Opens the door and I am certain there will be one less rodent tearing up the lawn and hiding walnuts then digging up the same spot days later to retrieve its treasure.

I run like the wind those West Highland Terrier genetics fueling my hunt the prey instinct. Not a Scottish fox nor farm rat but a good old fashioned Ontario squirrel. I query if my Scottish ancestors chased squirrels in the Scottish Highlands. But I am not in Scotland, but Toronto and I will make do with what God has given us to hunt!

That squirrel tore across the lawn and scrabbled up a tree. Beginner’s misfortune, I am sure. Hey my first squirrel hunt so show some compassion with my failure. I am not even embarrassed except when the squirrel sat on the fence by the tree, looked at me and started chattering. Fay said it happened to Dylan the Westie many times with that chattering being a “squirrel laugh”. Laugh. It will be your last laugh you beady eyed oversized rat. Next time you rodent you will succumb to my superior hunting skills. If a Westie can’t eliminate a pesky black squirrel what type of Westie might that be?

Dylan the Westie interjects from the Land Beyond, “This pup has much to learn but who has the heart to tell him I never caught a squirrel with 15 years of trying. So much fun I say and hope springs eternal and as I sit here the Land Beyond just watching the pup is great fun and all of us chortle and say it is the folly of youth! By the way I had a squirrel at my mercy as a three-year-old but Bob ordered me to stop. The squirrel was very sick and weak…beneath the dignity of a West Highland Terrier to cull unlike you humans in British Columbia that culled those ostriches. Avian flu my ass! Bureaucratic flu!

Photo Credit: Fotini Stephen

Published by Robert K Stephen (CSW)

Robert K Stephen writes about food ,drink, travel, film, and lifestyle issues. He also has published serialized novels "Life at Megacorp", "Virus # 26, "Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog" and "The Penniless Pensioner" Robert was the first associate member of the Wine Writers’ Circle of Canada. He also holds a Mindfulness Certification from the University of Leiden and the University of Toronto. Be it Spanish cured meat, dried fruit, BBQ, or recycled bamboo place mats, Robert endeavours to escape the mundane, which is why he has established this publication. His motto is, "Have Story, Will Write."

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