by Connie Foss
We aren’t out long when we hear car brakes squealing and horns honking. Looking out at the road, I see car lights, with horses running across the road ahead of the cars. Oh, no! “Annie,” I trumpet into the night air.“Get off the road!”
Bill and Meg have heard the horns, for I see them running down the drive to the road. I want to go, but I’d better not. That would just confuse things for Bill and Meg. I have to trust them to take care of Annie.
The night seems to never end. I hear things happening out on the road; horns honking, dogs barking and people shouting. But I can’t see it. It’s too dark.Ten and I stay out in the run, waiting to see and to hear. Finally we hear hoof beats and voices, as horses and people seem to be coming into the pasture.“Annie, is it you?”
“Yes, Bubba, I’m back and all is well.” It’s Annie. I’m so relieved.
“Annie, what in the world happened?” I quiz her.
“Remember Gordy? He came into the pasture, opened the gate and shooed all of us out into the road. Then he drove off in a hurry. Suddenly there were car lights shining in our eyes, horns honking, and we panicked and ran. It was so scary! I don’t think anyone was hurt, so I guess all is well. How did you know I was gone?”
so grateful you’re okay, but why would Gordy do such a terrible thing?”
It’s the next morning, and I still don’t have an answer to that question, but I hear Bill and Meg and Lilly talking about it.Well, talking might not be the correct word for what Bill is doing. He is shouting,
has gone too far.This time I’m going to get him and throw him in jail for the rest of his life!”
Chapter Twenty-Nine:
Boo Joins Us
Interesting! I just saw a wagging tail go around the corner, and it’s not Zeke’s. I wonder whose tail that is. When it turns around and
huge lump right on top of his nose, and his legs so bowed he could wrap them around a ball. “Hey, Mister Dog, are you lost? I like your nose by the way.That’s the most unusual nose I’ve ever seen.”
Hearing my voice, he looks up through his amber colored eyes. When I say up, with that lump on his nose he has to really look up just to see over it.
“Gosh no, I’m not lost. I just don’t know where I am. I was out scouting around tonight and saw all of these horses running up and down the road, so I herded them into the ditch. I love to herd. My daddy taught me out on our cattle ranch, and these horses herded just like cows.Then all of these cars and people showed up and spoiled the fun. I decided those horses are mine, and so I just followed them here.What is this place, anyway? Is this a horse ranch, or do you have some cattle stuck around somewhere?”
“Morning, Bubba, I see you’ve already met the hero from last night.” It’s Meg, surprisingly upbeat after the terror during the night. “Did you hear how the horses were saved? Well, it was this big black guy. Boo sounds like a good name for him. He came out of nowhere and herded the horses off the road before they could be hit by cars. That makes him a hero, don’t you think? Unless someone claims him, Boo is
“Well, that’s nice to hear,” Boo says, “I think I’ll take her up on that offer. It’s been a while since I had a place to stay. If the food is always as good as what she just fed me, I think I’ll like hanging out here.”
“Good morning, everyone. I trust you all had a peaceful night.” As Lilly comes in the door, right behind her trots Zeke. Let the fun begin. All it takes is one look from Zeke, and Boo turns tail and disappears around the corner.
“Hey, come back here!” yaps Zeke, and that’s the last we see of Zeke for a while. It’s certainly not the last we hear, though, for the yapping goes on for sometime.
“Whose black dog is that, Meg? And what’s he doing here?” Lilly is obviously surprised.
have a peaceful night. Someone left the gate open on the pasture, and all of the horses were out on the road.Then that big black dog herded them into the ditch before any of the cars could hit them. He was wonderful. Bill and I heard all of the whinnying and horns blowing, and as we were running down the drive, we saw that miracle happen. It was unbelievable!”
“Wow! We are lucky that dog showed up. Gosh, I hope Zeke hasn’t scared the dog away. What is his name? Oh, yeah. Boo. We can use a big dog around here. I’ll call Zeke, and you keep him here while I go look for Boo.”
used it as a collar to bring him back.
“Here, big boy, you and Zeke need to get acquainted, ‘cause
you’re both going to help us in the stable. Right, Zeke?”
Chapter Thirty:
More Trouble Brewing
It doesn’t take long for the two dogs to realize they each can use a dog friend. It’s fun to look out into the aisle and see the big black dog and the little white dog trekking along on some mission. Because of their growing friendship,Ten has been complaining to me that Zeke doesn’t have time for her any more.
“You can hang out with me,Ten,” I tell her. Do you know what she answers to that? She tells me that I’m not as much fun as Zeke. Can you believe that? Yep, that little twerp stands right there on her three legs and sassily tells me that. Oh, the courage of youth.
Mickey just came in for his morning ride, and guess what…he said ‘Hi’ to Lilly. She was surprised and tickled.
“Well, hi yourself, Mickey. Now that your arm is healed, would you like to help me brush Annie? I brought her in out of the pasture, and she’s in a stall just waiting for you. Come with me, and we’ll get her ready.”
Mickey no longer needs Bruce all of the time, so Bruce is in the
whatever that is. But it’s good to know, for if I ever see someone who looks like Bruce, I’ll know he is an attorney. Meg said that because Bruce is an attorney, he might be able to help catch Gordy again and stop all of these troubles. So that’s probably what they’re talking about. It was pretty scary having Annie out in the road, and since Annie said it was Gordy who opened the gate and shooed the horses out, I want Bruce to catch Gordy. If Annie had been hit by a car and our baby killed before it could even be born… What kind of a monster would do such things?
Later that day Meg saddles me, and, as we go out of the stable, she turns to Bill and says,“Bill, do you have time to come watch Bubba jump? I’ll not tell you what to look for, but I’m worried about him.”
Huh? Why is she worried? What have I done? As we walk out to the jumps, I remember how I was concerned about my eyes. Maybe I’m not jumping right because I can’t see well? Darn!
I knock down a bar on the second jump, and I’m surprised
any problems.
As we’re walking back, Bill walks with us. “Bubba, whoa. I want to look at your eyes.” Meg hops down and she and Bill look closely into my eyes, turning my head and looking at both eyes from all angles.
“I see some cloudiness in his right eye, but the left looks okay to me. Is that what you see, Meg?”
“Yes. I think we’d better have Doc look at those eyes the next time he’s here. Darn it anyway. Bubba won’t be able to jump if he can’t see well. I would hate that, and he would be so sad! We’re probably just seeing things, don’t you think?”
“I’m sorry, Meg, but no. Let’s just leave it up to Doc. He’s pretty sharp.”
Oh, no! Don’t let it be true. I have to be able to jump! That’s what I live for…that and Annie and Julie.
Chapter Thirty-One:
Chatty
Doc is here today to give us our annual shots and checkups.As Meg and Doc come into my stall, Meg says, “Doc, I’m worried about Bubba’s eyes.Would you please check them closely? He’s been missing some jumps and his style is changing.”
I stand quietly as Doc does all of his regular routine: listening to my heart and my lungs, giving me my shots. Then he gets out his magnifying glass, or whatever that thing is he looks through, and looks into my eyes. I want to blink but I try not to. It doesn’t take long before he says,“Meg, he’s getting a cataract in his right eye. It’s come on pretty fast, for there wasn’t any s
ign of one last year. The left eye looks just
“I was afraid of that.What can we do, Doc? Bubba loves to jump and he has done more with his jumping to promote The Chocolate Farm than have all the rest of us put together. He needs to be able to see well.”
“Meg, there’s been a lot of progress in being able to remove a cloudy lens…which is what a cataract is…and replace it with a soft lens. But it’s very expensive, plus Bubba would have to stay in the clinic for several weeks after the surgery. The biggest risk is infection, so he would have lots of drops put in his eye every day for weeks.”
“What do you mean ‘very expensive’?” Meg asks.
“Let me get back to you. I’ll look into it and come up with a cost
we’ll have a good outcome.”
relief! That means I’ll always be able to jump. I wonder when he’ll do it.
Life goes on, and I try to bury the thought of a knife cutting my eye. It’s not that hard when you live in a busy stable. Tom and Percy, Mr. O and Princess Polly,Ten and Zeke, Julie and Annie, and our latest family member, Boo, keep my life full to brimming over with other things to think about.Take yesterday morning for instance. We were impatiently waiting for our breakfast, when Boo came prancing in, proud as can be about what he had in his mouth.
“Let me outta here, you big baboon. Open your mouth! I ain’t a bone, ya know. Squawk, Squawk.” That was our introduction to the gaudy bird Boo had in his mouth. It was brightly colored in orange, green, yellow and red…a regular rainbow. But it was the constant chatter that came out of the bird’s mouth that caught my attention.
“I was just sittin’ there on a low branch grooming my beautiful feathers and along comes you, you big hound.What’d I ever do to you, huh, huh, tell me, you with the rotten breath.”
With that you could just see Boo wilt, his head hung down, his ears drooped, his tail tucked out of sight. When he opened his mouth to let the bird go, he said, “I just wanted to play with you. I didn’t hurt you, did I? I didn’t mean to.Tell me you’re okay.”
You could tell that Chatty, as good a name as any, really wasn’t okay for one wing was stretched out while the other one wasn’t.
“I’m so sorry! What can I do to help? Do you need a drink of water? I can take you to my water bowl. Just hop up on my back. Can you do that?”
And that was the beginning of a strange friendship. Here it is the next day and Chatty is being carried anywhere he wants to go, obviously enjoying being king of the roost. How long this will last, who knows?
Chapter Thirty-Two:
Gordy Again
It’s a cool early winter morning and I am half awake at dawn with the happy thought that I will see Annie today.As I kind of doze and dream of Annie, I hear some noise that sounds strange, scratching and
maybe a skunk taking up residence. Then I hear the feed-room door slowly close. Someone is here, but that’s not the kind of noise Nancy makes when she comes to feed. She always greets us with a cheery
Daylight is just creeping in, but it’s enough that even with only one good eye I can see it’s Gordy. Oh, oh, trouble for sure.There is no other reason he would be here than to make trouble. He’s trying to sneak out quietly, but it’s Chatty to the rescue, for as he’s going, Chatty starts shrieking,“Fire! Fire!”
I smell smoke. It’s not strong, but I recognize it from when there
whinnying. Percy joins in and the whole barn erupts with noise. If Gordy thought he was getting away undetected, he now knows better.
The shrieking from Chatty and the whinnying from the rest of us bring Bill and Meg.They come racing into the stable, with Bill running right to the feed-room, where the smoke is making a gray fog. “Meg, hook up the hose.There’s a straw bale burning but that’s all.We can put it out with enough water. Hurry!”
Soon all is well, but that was a close call.As the rest of us breathe sighs of relief, though coughing with the smoke, Bill is on phone.“Sheriff,
You’ve gotta catch Gordy and put a stop to this! You know his license number. He’s in our vicinity, and you can arrest him for arson.” “This is it! Even if they don’t catch him right away, they can
he is jubilant. “Meg, make sure no one goes in the feed-room until the
to do it!”
I miss the oats, but our hay tastes as good as it smells.As we all
Bill and Meg don’t eat alfalfa, I don’t know. I’m still eating when Sheriff Buck pulls up to the stable. As he slowly gets out of the car, Bill walks over to him.
“What happened, Buck? You’re moving kind of funny.You okay?” “Yeah, just a bit roughed up. I caught that Gordy for you, and he gave me a run for my money. It was not just in his car but afterward, when I yanked him out and shoved him up against his car. He didn’t take it too kindly, so we did a bit of wrestling. However, you’ll be pleased to know he’s now in jail. My men are coming out later to look for evidence.”
“Good! Thanks, Buck! We’re all staying out of the feed-room until your crew is through with it. Once you get him on the arson charge, you’ll be able to get the other two charges to stick, too, right?” Bill is not about to forget about the water in the gas tank and the horses in the road.
“We’ll give it our best, Bill.We don’t need that kind of stuff going on around here.” Buck carefully gets back in his truck and then leans out of the window to say,“Don’t you worry, Bill, I’ll be on this like a tick on a hound,” and pulls out of the drive.
Boo was standing by the stable door and obviously heard what the sheriff said, for I heard Boo growl,“I know that feeling…yeah, all too well.”
I don’t like the smoke smell that keeps lingering. It’s not just the irritation or the fear it brings with it. Something about it that makes me feel strange…like there is something I am trying to remember but
some good memories. I wonder if Annie is remembering that, too.
Chapter Thirty-Three:
First Smoke and Then…
“Hey, guy, look wha’ I foun’!” Zeke is not to be out gunned by Boo. Here he comes with something in his mouth, but it’s hard to talk with something in your mouth. Boo, with Chatty perched on his back, comes loping to the stable door to see what it is.
“Stink! Stink!” squawks Chatty, and there is an odor coming from somewhere. It smells familiar, and when Zeke opens his mouth, a little black and white ball of hair tumbles out and pays Zeke for his efforts.
I’m laughing so hard, seeing Zeke rolling on the ground, that I’m hardly aware that the baby skunk has run under my stall door and is now cowering at my feet.
“Hey, little stink-pot, what do you want from me? You think I’ll protect you from that big bad Zeke? You don’t have to worry. Zeke will be busy for some time trying to get rid of your perfume.”
The warm, homey smell of the barn is totally gone. Is that skunk smell ever potent! Yikes! My nose feels like it’s burning inside, but that’ll fade. It would fade a lot faster if little Stink-pot would leave.What is it about me that draws all of these little critters for protection? I guess it’s my size. Funny how my size has been a matter of concern ever since I was born. Sometimes I’m kind of used to it and don’t give it a thought. Other times, I wonder,‘Why me?’
“Whew! Hey, guys, which one of you didn’t know to leave a skunk alone? This stable smells to high heaven! Boo, is it you?” Meg is starting to check each one of the barn’s family.When she spoke Boo’s name, his ears went down and his tail tucked between his legs before
himself at all.
I don’t have a clue where Zeke went. Finally, Meg gives up and comes in to get me for our jumping fun. Then she sees Stink-Pot… or more likely smells him. “So you’re the source of this brain-drain of a smell. How can a little thing like you create such an overpowering odor?”
Meg leaves us and I can hear her calling Animal Rescue. “We have this little baby skunk in our stable, and I wonder if you could come get him, please? He has latched on to one of my horses and won’t leave the stall.”
Lilly is out working Geoffrey, but when she comes in there will be a reckoning for Zeke, who is yet to be found.
“Well, Bubba, aren’t you the savior though?” says Meg.“That little
Pretty neat to have so many appreciate you and your big heart and big body. Let’s wait to have our fun until Animal Rescue comes. Okay?” and Meg goes off to work with some other horse.
Darn. Oh well, I guess she’s right. I need to protect this little thing. He must be lost, for he’s awfully little to be without a mother.
“Mercy me! Who let in the skunk?” It’s Lilly and she is hit by the smell as she puts Geoffrey in his stall.“Okay, which one of you lost the battle with the skunk? Fess up.”
Hearing her voice, Zeke comes running from his hiding place in the wash rack.“Hi, Zeke, was it you?” When she picks Zeke up, she has no doubt she has found the culprit.
“Meg, what’ll I do with this little guy? He is saturated with that smell!”
“Well, there are some commercial products to use to neutralize the smell, but I don’t have any of those. I do have a lot of tomato juice, which is the old fashioned treatment. It’s in the pantry up at the house if you want to tackle that.”
Lilly, carrying Zeke at arm’s length, turns when Meg says, “Do you want to see the cutest little baby you’ve ever seen? He’s in Bubba’s stall.”
As Lilly and Meg look in over the stall door, Zeke cowers when he sees Stink-Pot.“Oh, isn’t he precious? What shall we do with him?”
“I’ve called Animal Rescue.They’re on the way and will take him out in the wild somewhere and turn him lose.”
Meg was very matter-of-fact about it, but not Lilly.“Oh, the poor little thing will be all alone.We can’t let them do that.”
“And what would you rather they do?” asked Meg, not understanding what would be wrong with turning a wild animal back into the wild.
“Don’t they “de-smell” skunks and then they can become pets? Robin would love to have a skunk for a pet.”