Monday, January 04, 2010

A Tailess Tale on a Snowy Evening

I have conflicting opinions of telling this tale from Luckie's perspective, or my perspective, so will attempt to combine the two in a scenario that makes sense(?)!

NitWit: I purchased a rather pricey Chipmunk toy ($9.99+tax. approved by AKC) as a Christmas gift for Luckie. Blowing $10+ on dog toys or treats for Luckie is not uncommon, but usually there is quantity to the purchase.

Since I've been fighting a respiratory infection, Christmas Day was a bust. I languished the day away, alternating between sleep, wheezing and coughing fits and spasms. Christmas for Luckie was pushed to the back burner of my supersaturated, drugged mind.

The day after Christmas (Saturday) I remembered to give Luckie her toy, which she immediately adopted as her favorite toy of the moment. I was so pleased she bonded with her toy, not knowing I would regret that thought. She carried Chippy everywhere, mercilessly squeaking its nerve-wracking noise box.

Sunday morning I remembered I wanted a picture of Luckie in her scrungie collar with Chippy. As I began assembling my camera, Chippy, scrungie and items for the picture, Chippy had a peculiar look.

On inspection the entire tail was missing. Luckie destroyed the tail in less than 24 hours! Furthermore, the tail was nowhere to be found. This was no small skinny tail; to date it has yet to be found.

Husband said Luckie probably ate Chippy's tail; after all she eats real chipmunks (not exactly eat in human sense of word, but Luckie can tell this part).

His statement provoked my vision of humongous vet bills for gastic obstruction surgery--one more aggravating thing to worry about!

In previous blogs Luckie has been described as partnered with me in Foodaholics Anonymous. She steals and eats any attainable food stored or mindlessly left at her reachable level. These forays include whole loaves of bread, Russell Stover chocolate diet candy, defrosting meatloaf, and many toy parts.

Until the 1000 year ice storm in early 2009, real chipmunks' lives were imperiled if they unfortunately invaded our fenced yard at inopertune times when the chipmunk patrol of one-Luckie--was on duty. When we lost 7 huge trees, squirrel and chipmunk populations dramatically decreased.

Now why did I think this toy would have a better fate???

Luckie: Yeah, faulty theory! How am I supposed to differentiate between cheap and expensive toys? Come to think of it, how am I to know which foods are mine? Food is food in Foodaholics Anonymous. And you keep putting me on those stupid diets, so I suffer along with you. Revoke my membership. Dogs live to eat.

Besides this so-called toy fooled me into thinking it was the real McCoy, a gigantic chipmunk dinner for Christmas, beats turkey, but then I like turkey, ham, bacon, baloney.....sigh. At last, I thought you had come around to my way of thinking.

When I bit into that gigantic Chippy, and discovered it was polyfiber-filled, instead of....well let's not get too descriptive and gross for the readers. Let's say I would make an excellent female Dracula.

Upon discovering Chippy was a well-designed fake, I lost my cool and amputated its bushy tail. Where is it? I'll never tell, and you'll never know! Put that in your pipe and smoke it!


And you really don't want me to tell you where you can put this @%## scrungie but it ends in "where the sun don't shine." [Here is fittingly descriptive, humorous song .]

NitWit: So Luckie and I have arrived at an impasse to this tailess tale.

Sunday (today) we arose to a beautiful blanket of snow, about 6 inches, and still falling in the evening. It is primarily granular snow. After midnight I noticed large flakes.


Dressed only in my nightgown, I grabbed my camera and stepped out the front door to capture a night snowstorm. Although not exciting composition the snow is entrancing in the photo. Because the yard night light and camera flash combined to with snow to create and capture a prismatic, moving image that looks like cotton balls.

Photos:
1. Night Snow Scene
2. AKC Chipmunk Toy
3. Tailess Chipmunk courtesy Luckie amputation
4. Luckie Scrungie

11 comments:

Jinksy said...

Let's hope the tail never causes an unpleasant end to the tale of it's demise!

faye said...

Great post.

Luckie doesn't look too
happy with that scrungie.

Had a similar problem with a
new toy squirrel for Teas...
but she still lugs it around.

Stay warm and keep out of the snow.

Arkansas Patti said...

Luckie is obviously not amused by that collar. As for the tail, guess you will just have to carefully watch stools for a while. :)
Really a funny post if it weren't for the sick part. Sure hope that is getting better. Enough all ready.
We don't have 6 inches, more like 2inches but it is still beautiful and still coming down. It has awakened my dormant 6 year old.
I am so glad it waited till I got home and ever so grateful I am retired and don't "have" to go anywhere.
Feel better and enjoy the beauty.

Silver said...

Hope you've been feeling better from your respiratory problem. These things normally do take some time before you really feel all back to your before state.

Interesting tale.. female Dracula!At least it had kept Luckie busy for days with the new toy.

hugs,
~Silver

NitWit1 said...

The tail is still missing;t Luckie is still feeling and acting CHIPper.

The tailess Chipmunk is still a beloved possession to her.She is now slowly amputating its tiny feet.

Plus she is still eating and acting very normal.

Husband and I have searched indoors and out for the tail. I keep feeling her tummy for any "hardness" -- so far none.

Finding stools in the snow is not a joyous adventure. She may have even buried it. She can make massive holes with her tiny (for her size) feet.

Wonder how long it takes to navigate her intestinal track? It has been a week, since I noticed the tail was AWOL.

At the first sign of not feeling well, I'll pack her off to the vet--hope it is not midnight. Most vets do not like emergency medicine.

In my area they have a rotating on-call arrangement.

Dimple said...

Cute story, well told. Luckie looks miserable, like the scrungie is a particularly barbaric form of torture!
When my dog was teething, she loved those soft toys. She would disembowel them, and I had white puffs of stuffing everywhere. I quit buying them for her, but not before she had destroyed several; I'm a slow learning sometimes!

Lisa said...

Very cute post...lets hope this story "ends" well for Lucky and her NitWit friends...I say dont look for the tail ~ she buried it!

Renie Burghardt said...

The snow falling picture is beautiful! You actually got 6 inches of snow? Wow! We haven't had any but it's in the forecast for Wednesday into Thursday. Hope not though! But it's bitterly cold out there. Any outdoor adventures almost freezes one's buns off!

Loved Luckies tale about the chipmunks tail. Hopre you feel better soon!

Happy New Year!

Hugs,

Renie

Lorna said...

Beautiful photo of a snowy evening.

NitWit1 said...

NitWit1 additional comments. Luckie is a sassy little mutt isn't she?

I'll take sassy everyday, to the cowled little sick dog I brought home so long ago. She did not even know how to play with a toy.

She certainly changed to a loving rascally scamp that endeared herself over the past five years!!

Pat - Arkansas said...

I like your snow photo. We got just a bit more than a dusting of snow here, about 1/2 to 1".

Poor chipmunk! Poor Luckie! In the days when I had dogs, I never found a dog-proof toy. I used to buy regulation soccer balls for my Schnauzer and he would have the covering ripped off in several places in an hour or two. However, he would play with the ball until all the covering was gone and it was completely deflated. There's no accounting for what dogs like... or don't.

I hope Luckie didn't actually eat the tail, but if she did, that may account for the mournful look on her face. :)