Cows, Tractors, and Ponds

Nine years old. Spunky. A tad ornery. Lily white with bits of tan and cream throughout his fur. His teeth? Like tiny pegs haphazardly scattered along his underbite. Jack Junior, better known as JJ, had only been to the country once until that day.

I had adopted him the year prior, and we didn't exactly spend a lot of time outside. The usual "Who needs to go teetee? Wanna go outside?" would get his head tilting to the side indicating he understood and an uproarious, little bark to say "YASSSSS!". We'd then spend the necessary time in the yard, fenced in because he'll run, and head back in. He also joined me on car rides and to friends' houses, but he doesn't really require being walked; mainly because he gets plenty of exercise when he does his zoomies once or twice a day.

Now, here we were, on our way to my grandaddy's house on the outskirts of Slocomb, Alabama - my home town. JJ had his head out the window, soft hair blowing in the wind, little teeth on display for passers-by. We passed old houses, open land filled with cows, and tractors abandoned in fields for the time being.

We turned off the paved road onto the dirt road. That's how you know you're in the country. They don't bother paving the roads. They throw some gravel on top to prevent you from reenacting a scene from The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, but they ultimately know there is someone within a one mile radius who will happily bail you out of a slippery situation.

It wasn't raining this day, thankfully, so no worries there. We pulled up and were greeted by Petunia, the beagle/lab mix. She is affectionately known as "Tuni" and "Tuna", as well, in case you were wondering. She is the guard dog of the property and is knee-high to a grasshopper. Her bark certainly sounds threatening, but she is nothing more than a ball of energy and love. She sniffs JJ and my other dog, Potato, to reacquaint herself with them before rolling over to show me her fat belly. She is spoiled living out here. She gets her kibble, twice a day, with a little warm milk and a reasonable amount of table scraps. Grandaddy grows most of his own vegetables and fruits, and also loves his meat and grains; so Petunia really reaps the rewards of this. She is a happy, healthy, and adventurous pup. She was delighted to have JJ and Potato there so she can take them on one of her many adventures.

I left the three of them outside to play while I went inside to visit with my grandaddy. They had access to shelter and water and anything else they could possibly need, so I wasn't worried. I knew Potato loved a good romp, but JJ just sat at the door whining for me to let him in for quite a while. I could see the other two playing, but they weren't straying far from the back porch. After visiting for about an hour, I realized there was no one whining and whimpering. We went outside to walk the yard a bit, eat some fresh fruit picked straight from the bush, and see what these three dogs were up to.

There wasn't a dog in sight. I called for mine, and grandaddy called for Petunia. She came strolling up since he called, but mine? Not a peep. We called out over and over. I walked to the end of the driveway and looked down each side of the hill the house sat atop. He looked near the wooded area past the garden. Nothing. Petunia looked suspicious, but you never know with her. After thirty minutes or so, I began to worry. His land spans about a hundred acres, so I knew we really had our work cut out for us if they didn't show.

They didn't. So, grandaddy pulled his Gator around and we went riding the property searching for these two, tiny hoodlums. We rode through some rocky terrain, past the ponds, up one road and down another - all the while, calling out "JayJAYYYYYYY! POTATOOOOOO!!". Nothing. We saw some squirrels scurrying, heard some birds chirping, and I'm sure there was a snake or two I, thankfully, wasn't alerted to. We came up empty-handed.

Petunia was in her bed, curled up and resting. She had had her fun, but knew when to come home. Mine, apparently, did not.

Just as I was about to become emotional and overwhelmed with worry, Potato and a similarly small, green being approached - hassling and essentially grinning at me. There they were, my two boys; wet, filthy, and filled with utter glee. JJ looked like a little swamp goblin. He had burrs and bugs and brambles in his once soft, white fur. Potato wasn't nearly as bad as he had navigated this terrain before.

I thanked grandaddy for all his help and hoped he would accept my apology for those two taking us on a wild goose chase. He required no apology, and I could see in his face it brought him joy. While Petunia took JJ on a wild adventure, he and I had our own, little adventure. He petted JJ's head and wished him well.

As we drove away, JJ rolled around on a towel in the backseat to "clean" himself before hopping in my lap to get some wind on those teeth again. He was the happiest, greenest boy I ever did see.

He is now twelve-years-old. He still gets the zoomies at least once a day. His favorite thing to do outside is to run as hard as he can to the fence between ours and our neighbor's yard to raise hell at their Husky. We still go on car rides. His underbite is as glorious as ever, and he has yet to lose any of his little peg teeth. I'm hoping he never does.