Library Notes
March 12, 2004
By Pansy Hundley, Librarian.
This is gonna be a smelly story this week: Suzanne’s Smelly Story.
Suzie went to the SPCA about three months ago and got them a new dog, a German Shepherd about six months old, whose name was Shadow. He’s a super dog, bonded with them immediately and is very smart. Of course, Suzanne bonds with just about every dog and cat or horse, or probably camel or bear that comes around.
She was wanting a watch dog and she got her one. He is very protective. The first time the telephone man came to mark the telephone line for a fence, he did not get in the yard. Shadow told him immediately that he would not come in that yard, no questions asked.
Shadow did not like to be contained, let us say. He learned right away how to climb or jump completely over the fence and go where he wanted to.
Well, Suzie fixed him. She went to the feed store, collared a feller that knew what he was talking about and had him explain and instruct her about putting a hot wire around the top of the fence. It didn’t take but about one jolt and Me. Shadow Dog got the message loud and clear.
Well, Suz came in from work the other evening and proceeded to let Mr. Shadow out in his yard. Who do you think was roaming around out there, in Shadow’s yard, mind you, as pretty as you please? Came in and took over the place without a "by-your-leave."
Before Suzie had time to register what she was looking at, Shadow knew already. He was across that yard and had his teeth into that black feller with a white stripe before Suzie could stop him. He grabbed that smelly feller in the middle of the back. Things were okay, until – until, Shadow stuck his nose down to smell of that visitor and he got a really good smell! Sprayed right in the face twice. He started spluttering and foaming at the mouth and Suzie was trying to get him away. He was so hyped up by then, with the adrenaline racing, Shadow probably didn’t even hear her. She’d gotten him away and put him in the other part of the yard with no hot wire and he’d come right back over the top. Finally, she’d had it. Shadow wasn’t the only one with the adrenaline pumping. He weights over 100 pounds and she couldn’t get him off the floor the last time she tried. But, remember the adrenaline? She finally picked him up and threw him back over that fence – and he stayed there! He stood and looked at her so strangely. He thought she’d lost her mind. His Mistress didn’t act like that, and now she smelled like skunk too !
The skunk was not dead, but he was badly hurt. Suzie can’t stand to see anything suffer. So, she went across the road and asked the neighbor man to come shoot the skunk and make the poor thing dead. The man’s son is a policeman and when he came home from work about an hour later, he and his gun came to put smelly feller out of his misery. He even buried him for her too.
The other now smelly feller was staying where he was put – er – thrown.
That smelly feller got an outside bath of soda, cider vinegar and lemon juice. Then he got sprayed with pretty-smelling spray and anything else Suz could think of before he got to come in the house.
Suzie thought everyone might look at her funny and sniff when she came in the next morning to work. But they didn’t seem to. They did not ban her from the building or make her sit by herself behind a closed door. With all the de-skunking things she put on Shadow, she must have gotten enough on herself. That and the half bottle of perfume she probably wore to work.
I’d say that Shadow has definitely become an experienced skunk-dog. He may proceed with more caution the next time he encounters one.
And, that’s Suzie’s smelly story. She says he still has some "perfume" smell to him, I would think especially if you get down-wind from him. There are skunks all over the place right now, it seems, with Spring coming. But, rest assured that there is one less in the world, thanks to Shadow, with credit shared with the nice policeman-neighbor.
Let us delve into a NEW James Patterson book now, and here’s a short preview of what in the world is going on in his latest.
"Detective Lindsay Boxer is jogging along a beautiful San Francisco street when a fiery explosion rips through the neighborhood. A town house owned by an Internet millionaire is immediately engulfed in flames, and when Lindsay plunges inside to search for survivors, she finds three people dead. An infant who lived in the house cannot be found -–and a mysterious message at the scene leaves Lindsay and the San Francisco Police Department completely baffled.
Then a prominent businessman is found murdered under bizarre circumstances, with another mysterious message left behind by the killer. Lindsay asks her friends, Claire Washburn of the medical examiner’s office, Assistant D.A. Jill Bernhardt, and Chronicle reporter Cindy Thomas to help her figure out who is committing these murders—and why they are intent on killing someone every three days.
Even more terrifying, the killer has targeted one of the four friends who call themselves the Women’s Murder Club. Which one will it be?
While the investigation rages furiously, Lindsay works very closely with a federal officer assigned to the case. At the same time, she learns that one member of the Women’s Murder Club is hiding a secret so dangerous and unbelievable that it could destroy them all."