Daughter, Mary, called and excitedly said she saw a new litter of puppies that we had to see. Aloma nor I were interested in a pet, but because Mary was so excited we agreed to drive to Honeoye Fall to see the puppies. Ben, was the father, a huge black lab that roamed loose in the village. Litters of puppies in Honeoye falls were getting blacker and blacker, just like big Ben.
We fell in love with one of the puppies. Brandi grew into a wonderful dog, affectionate and obedient.
While Brandi would bark when the doorbell rang or the garbage truck came by, but anyone (friend or foe) who entered the house quickly became her best friend. When friends came over, we would lock Brandi in a spare bedroom. When we were ready for friends to leave, we would let Brandi out and she would join the party slobbering on every guests. They always left soon after Brandi came out.
You would think big Ben’s hunting genes would pass to Brandi. They didn’t. We would trap an ant under a glass and she would lay and watch it for hours. But anything larger, like a bee, trapped under a glass would scare her. She would pretend not to see it and not go near it.
One day, we were on the deck with friends and noticed a dove eating soft berries from a shrub. They were decaying and must have produced alcohol because the dove starting staggering around on the ground. Someone suggested we hold onto Brandi so she wouldn’t grab the drunk dove. I said, “Not to worry. She’ll refuse to see it. And I was correct.
Finally the dove staggered out of our yard. Suddenly, Brandi got up, ran into the yard and went into hunting mode, tail stiff, and nose to the ground. She looked like an actual hunting dog. She circled, picked up the scent of the dove and started tracking it - not where it went but to the bush it came from. After checking out the bush, she came back to the deck looking really proud. We thought she was a fool, but gave her our approval.
We all got a laugh.
Seasoned Man
stevelem117@gmail.com
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