Every once in a while I have an email conversation with someone that just makes me laugh out loud.  It occurs to me that many of them are dog/pet related so it seems about time to do another Ordinary Pet Legacy post on another one of them.  Following is an email conversation with a dear friend and gardener that I’ve known for many years, it’s bitter sweet and laugh out loud funny at the same time but aren’t all dog stories?  The subject: “more direction needed” is work related and I’m sure of no interest to you.  Suffice to say I was lurking while on vacation and this is one of the few I found worth popping in about…

 

Email From: Mitchell, Lance
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Subject: Re: more direction needed.

 

Hi,

 

Hope all is well with you and yours. Other than the 2 boys having left the manse to go to college, leaving me with 2 female dogs Sugar, the mini dachshund, and Emma ” the devil dog” weimaraner who is on hospice due to bladder cancer at age 12 and enjoying every minute of it due to unlimited food and attention, my lovely bride and my 15 year old daughter Brynn who is turning 25 tomorrow, all is well.

 

To: Mitchell, Lance
Subject: Re: more direction needed.

Never in my life have I laughed about a dog in hospice, God love you, you crack me up. Will be online Friday (no wireless where I’m staying) if it can wait we can chat then. Best from the Cape, slc
Forgive the brevity, sent via Blackberry

 

Email From: Mitchell, Lance

Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Subject: Re: more direction needed.

 

Hi,

 

Too make it even more funny and tragic…

 

Josie “the outlaw Josie Wales” mini dachshund went missing in late fall of 2010. My second son is convinced that she went feral. My heart broken daughter said she is on an extended walk about. My thought is that the resident fisher cat or coyotes have “adopted” her. So bottom line Josie is MIA. Open to discussion if she was KIA.

 

Emma, 80 lbs. well-conditioned dog, went MIA in February 2011. She went out at noon and never came back. She had never strayed for more than an hour or so. Very dog friendly area – a five house loop off a cul de sac, state forest in the back yard etc. Three or four of her buds and her would go house to house looking for treats in the am and pm. It had snowed the day before, very easy to track foot prints, spent days in the woods tracking. Conclusion that she went down the road and somebody picked her up.

 

In late March 2011, Sugar showed up when I was away skiing. Nice little replacement mini dachshund. Thinks she is a big dog. She roughhouses with the neighborhood dog pack daily. She is on an electronic radius fence. Her buds like to play you can’t catch me by crossing the DMZ where she gets a reminder that she is too far from the electronic box.

 

Late April 2011 get a call from a town 25 miles away. We have Emma. Their story is that she was 5 miles away in a neighboring town the day she went missing and they picked her up. Failed to understand that she had on the dog collar when I picked her up with three forms of ID with phone numbers etc. We are results oriented- we have our dog back. We refer to that period as when she went on vacation. When exasperated we threaten her with being sent back to Framingham. We think they called us because after 7 weeks they realized she is way too needy.

 

Now Emma has bladder cancer ergo the hospice. They gave her 60 days last Thanksgiving. She has lost a few pounds and doesn’t run quite as well but other than that seems fine. She eats as much as she wants to all day. Has an unlimited supply of self-serve treats whenever she wants. There are no longer limits to jumping on beds and couches. Life is great for her other than she can’t abide Sugar. Teach her to go on vacation….

Aren’t you sorry that you responded?

regards,

 

Lance Mitchell

 

And there you have it, I know like I know that you are laughing and thinking God aren’t dogs and their people the best. I’ll be looking for more of these so stay tuned.