Lookie What I Got!

I smell like puppy breath. No, it's not a new hillbilly perfume.
We had some unexpected company

Last night, my Hillbilly Husband and #1 son returned home from
Wal-mart. The rain was pouring down, and a chilly wind was
blowing. #1 saw something run along the garage. He thought it
was a little pig. Maybe I should get that boy's eyes examined.
Anyhoo, HH said it was a puppy. They couldn't find it. #1 even
got a flashlight and crawled up under the porch. HH was in the
garage, pouring a big bag of cat food into small jugs. While
they were not blabbing up a storm, I heard whimpering. I told
#1 to shut up and listen, it was coming from the area where HH
parks his too-long Ford F250 beside the garage.

Then he ran around the corner of the garage and hid behind a
big metal cauldron full of rocks, an artistic piece in our rock
garden collection. The puppy, not HH. #1 picked him up. I held
him, and he snuggled his head under my chin and laid still. I told
#1 to get a towel to dry him off. He had a little piece of fur missing
from his forehead. I thought our cranky cat might have tangled
with him. We dried him, put him in a wooden box, and left him.
The wooden box was built for our kittens to sleep in back when
they were helpless as, well...kittens. They didn't like it, preferring
to crowd into a flower pot. The box had cedar chips and a hole
to get in and out, and a hinged lid on top. We put some dry cat
food in there with him.

#1 son told #2, who came out to see the puppy. #1 said HH said
we could keep it for a week, and then take it to the Humane
Society. They don't kill them there. HH is sometimes an old softy,
and told me in secret that we could probably keep it since it's a
boy. This morning, #1 ran out to see the puppy, and it was gone.
He spent about 30 minutes looking for it, under the porch and
under the cars. On about the third trip, he came in all excited.
"I found the puppy! AND THERE'S ANOTHER ONE WITH
IT! They were crowded into the corner behind the garage!"

They were all shivering and scared. We put them back in the wooden
box with some food. They ate it all, and were snuffling throught the
cedar chips for pieces they had dropped. We gave them more food.
HH said we should try to find out if they belonged to the neighbors
who have black dogs. That narrowed it down to three. Then BIG
MOUTH HH said, no, it was two, because Buddy shot his dog,
because he went blind, and kept getting lost. #2 son pricked up his
ears and said, "Shot him?" So HH said, "Put him to sleep so he
didn't suffer." It's the country, people. That's as humane as we get.


#1 and #2 hopped into the Scout
to go ask the LandStealer's
daughter if they'd lost any
puppies. Upon return, #1 said
that no, she hadn't lost any, but
she said she would take one.
Which is a good thing, since I
know we can't keep two, and
the other one is a female.

Then we got to thinking how these poor little things curl up next to
each other, and decided to keep them both for a week, so they
don't get lonely. Then we will give the female away.

I think somebody must have dumped them here. From their size
and how they act, I don't think they would have traipsed through
the rain and ended up here. I know they couldn't have come from
the usual dumping place of the mailboxes a mile down the gravel
road. I don't even think they could come all the way up our
driveway. They don't appear to be strays, because they were
kind of chubby as puppies go. But then again, they are very shy
and skittish, and tuck their tails between their legs, and try to hide
under cars or alongside the buildings. If one of the neighbors
dumped them, of course they're not going to claim that they lost
puppies. They both have some little patches of hair missing on
their foreheads, like they've been clawed by a cat, or squeezed
through a fence.

They kind of look like black labs, but one has a white tip on the
end of her tail. They actually look like little bears to me. They
are afraid to be picked up at first, then snuggle in and lie very
still. I am the leader of their pack now, I suppose.

The kids have not mentioned a name. I think they are afraid
somebody will claim them, or they will disappear. #1 puts
something in front of the wooden box hole every chance he
gets. I told him we can't keep them in a box, they need to
play and poop and pee. I don't think he cares. He was very
sad this morning before he found them.

Here come the vet bills. We still have two cats due for their
rabies shots. These free animals can get expensive.

To my teaching buddy, Mabel: You should be glad that the
LandStealer's daughter wants one. You are the first person I
was going to ask if you wanted a puppy. She could have been
a companion for Lovie. It appears that they have something
in common. And this one really is a girl.