Dogs and Packrats

  Chubby Chicken was around for all things a staunch supporter for all activities.. He was only left home for things he might get into trouble for. He now had a buddy also in the form of a female black Lab named Billy that I had taken on from Morgans when I helped them out.   Chubby continued his  thieving ways in the cabin.  Jude or I would open the door and a black something would hasten past.  Chubby always knew it was wrong to steal but he did it anyway.  Usually he had eaten the butter or on one occasion ate five of Jude's butter tarts!  We figured we must have almost caught him in the act or he would have eaten the sixth one as well. One night before Jude came he bit the mechanic Alan Dungate when Alan entered without knocking.(a foolish thing to do anyway) Chubby also had a favourite chair and if anyone sat in it would stare at them until they left.

   When I was still living at my brother's, Chubby had run in front of Franks horse as he galloped it up the driveway. For some reason Chubby stopped and the horse ran right over him.   Chubby hollered all the way down to me again and I really thought he wasn't badly hurt but this time he was.   Two toes were severed and a portion of his foot pad.We took him to the vet in Nelson and he had to stay there for a few days. Luckily the vet only charged us forty dollars as neither of us had a lot of money at the time. Frank felt badly and paid half the cost. The vet talked about possible plastic surgery in the future but that wasn't going to happen for sure. Alas, Chubby was no longer the dog he had been.  Ever the tough little survivor, it wasn't long before Chubby was going on rides with me again. He could no longer run as fast as he once did but he could definitely run and often would just go on three legs and let the bad leg hit ground just once in awhile. However his squirrel and gopher days were done. Now he spent his time in the creek catching frogs.  

 He spent many hours in the creek at Lofsted while we worked, chasing frogs. The bad foot may have affected his balance as well because I remember leaving my brothers place one day with Chubby on the flat deck and he rolled right off into the driveway. He was just always with me and a great companion. He stuck around well when he was left at home and so did Billy. Both dogs often rode on the hay wagon or in the back of the trucks we drove and they had a pretty happy life. Upon arriving home for the day Jude and I would often tease Chubby Chicken and make him sing a lament if we would not get out of the vehicle right away. He had become a fixture in our lives.

   When I first arrived in the cabin I had a pack rat visit but I didn't know it until Chubby let on that something had just whizzed across the ceiling and into the Annex. There was more evidence in the barn of this intruder. I went to get my saddle one day and the cinch was gone! It had been chewed right off and packed away heavy buckles and all. I asked Aldingers just how big these rats were! Obviously they were strong anyway and not the size of a mouse at all. Pack rats are obnoxious
 animals in that they have to pee on everything and you can always smell
when one is around.  I set a trap in the barn and got him one day. At first I thought he looked kind of cute, but then I got a whiff of him and promptly dispatched him. They were very destructive creatures and as Fred would say a “varmint”