Life around our farm was never without dogs and cats. The first dog that I remeber was "Flip." Flip was considered to be a Terrier of some kind and was to squirrel hunting as Leif Ericson was to Viking! He hated squirrels and wanted all of them dead. He could find one of those tree rats 75 feet up, flat against the top of an Oak limb. He could even sense squirrels in their nests. People were always coming by and asking if Flip could go hunting with them. What did people do with the squirrels they killed? Squirrel and dumplings, fried squirrel, squirrel stew... There were no deer in this area then and darn few squirrels and rabbits. Flip just disappeared one day and never returned.
"Lassie" was a female Collie who had mastered the complexities of moving cows from one place to another. She was capable of going into a pasture, circling up the whole herd and bringing them wherever you wanted. It was our fault; Lassie became bored with the amount of work that we gave her and decided to round up a few cows for herself and friends. We lost a calf and she had to go. Fortunately, Lassie had been such a great asset, she was allowed to keep her life and be banished to another farm.
"Tom", the black cat (with some redeeming white around his neck) was the family mouser who was allowed in the house as long as the rat and mouse problem was kept under control. Tom lasted for years and then one day turned up missing. When we found him I had my first experience of the death of a loved one. But there were many other cats and dogs in my young life.
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