Still No Powerball!

Well it's Thursday and again for many weeks in a row, I'm no powerball winner. I must be the biggest aspiring lottery winner that I know. I just somehow hold out that hope, since I'm going to do something really worthwhile with the money that I'll win. Speaking of lottery winners, I received this in my inbox this morning and I thought I'd share with you all....

The Lottery Winner? Having finished driving the stainless steel cross into the ground that I had fabricated at our welding and machine shop, I stood up to look at it. Many happy memories flooded my mind and the tears flooded down my cheeks as I reflected back over the years of great and happy times spent together. Riding in the boat fishing, flying in our plane to our west texas office, walks through the woods, trips in the pickup, beachcombing, arrowhead hunting at the ranch, helping (or hindering)with cattle roundup and many many other fun hours spent together. It was early summer 1981 when Misty Blue, my one dark eye, one blue eyed Heeler passed away suddenly. We had been fun partners for sixteen years and she had been active until the abrupt end by heart failure I was told. I turned to look at the sad faces and tears of my wife and children, then back at the inscription I had welded to the face of the cross. "We Will Meet At The Rainbow Bridge Someday Sweetheart- Misty Blue, 1965-1981". "I will never, ever have another dog. They just don't live long enough and it's too painful, like losing one of you when they go." I told my family. Fast forward to a cold, drizzling January night during supper 1997. The phone rang. "My two pitbulls have your little puppy cornered in my garage" my neighbor said. "Puppy? I don't own a puppy." Was my reply. "Oh! There's been a little dog hanging around a couple of days stealing catfish food from the sack in the garage. I've run her off several times" My wife said. "I'll be right there" as I told my neighbor not to let her get hurt. There she was, all two pounds of her, teeth bared at the two giant pitbulls, bluffing her meaness, trying to save herself. I picked her up and she squirmed quickly inside my coat and up to my armpit shaking uncontrollably. Back at the house I showed her to my wife who told me that was the dog she had been scaring out of the garage. She smelled the food on the table and while still shaking started to sniff and lick her lips in anticipation of some food. She was starving. Leaving her on a heating pad in a bathtub, I went to the store and got her some good dog food since I knew table food was not good at all for her. She filled up. The next morning I called the paper and started a free, three day, found ad for lost pets. I also contacted Animal Control and Lost Pet Hotline to alert them. The newspaper ad read, "Found Chihuahua, call and identify". We thought she was a chihuahua cross of some kind at that time. Five AM or so, I'm reading the paper. The phone rings, "Nope, not her", the other line lights up, "Nope" and it is nearly continual calls, but no one identifies her. This goes on for two weeks. At supper one night my wife looked at me as I held her while she affectionately licked my hands . "Too late now, isn't it" she said. "Yep, what are we going to name her?" I replied. "Whaaaateeeeever!" My wife slowly breathed out. And so it was to the vet for getting into good shape with shots, pills and tags. She got a bath and shampoo to go with her new collar. The vet checked her profile and determined she wasn't a chihuahua cross but a short legged toy rat terrier. Fine with me. She now goes everywhere with us. She guards the truck, our home, the office, and anyplace we stay. We go on the boat fishing and check the garden together. She has set herself up as chief squirrel and swan monitor so they don't get too close to me. This past summer we spent two weeks fishing in Alaska together. The airline stewardesses and surrounding passengers just adored and petted her on both going and return flights. She just loved the attention from everyone. She beat the odds of finding a loving caring home. Especially with a guy that rarely if ever goes back on his words,,,,. Well, this is different? Right? Friends and the office staff call her the lottery winner. Mark Crider

Seems like a pretty sweet lottery winning to me. Bear Vacation update: I did speak with Jennie last night, and Bear has an appointment next Tuesday to visit and make his reservations at his vacation resort. Jennie said that she'd work with him off lead, so maybe he can romp freely (always supervised of course) in my yard someday. Since she has fenced in areas, it's easier for her to teach it, rather than me do it in my open yard and risk him sprinting away into the street. I think this will be a very interesting and fun visit. There's no telling what he'll learn while he's away. He's always been so easy to train. Well, gotta run. I have a workshop that I've got to attend today. It's a webcast, and because I was the first one to sign up, I have to coordinate the whole thing. Boy, are THEY in for a suprise. Until next time......