Just a-Looking for a Home, Idaho Version

Call it synchronicity, call it coincidence, or call it some random act in the cosmos—on Tuesday, Lizzy Frizzfrock featured a post about a Manx kitten that had turned up at her neighbors’ home, & which she was looking after while trying (successfully, it turns out) to find a home for the kitten.

How this pertains to us is that Wednesday morning Eberle & I got up to find a cattle dog (Autrain Shepherd/Border Collie mix by the looks) comfortably dozing on our front porch. She had no collar or any i.d., but was obviously trained—she knew commands like “down” & “stay,” & obeyed quite well, despite being pretty agitated when she actually saw humans—of course those cattle dogs are really smart. She’s a young dog, & rambunctious.

We got a poster together & circulated a “found dog” notice; & we took it to the Indian Valley hot spots like the general store & the post office & the diner. Because this type of dog is almost always a “worker,” people tend to recognize the animals as belonging to a particular ranch, but no one could place her.

It really was tempting to give her a home here. She was very friendly & fun. There were at least a couple of big problems, however—one, Eberle is allergic to dogs (she gets hives), & two our cats Manxine & Weenie were beside themselves, & with some good reason. The dog appears to be a cat chaser. Our llama & especially our alpaca also were on “high alert”—llamas see any creature in the dog family as an enemy & can be pretty aggressive toward dogs & coyotes (they are often used as watch animals for sheep because of their aggression towards coyotes).

The story has a happy end. An old & very kindly rancher in Indian Valley had recently lost his dog & offered to give her a home. When I brought the dog around to his place this morning, you could tell he was very happy, tho in a laconic old rancher sort of way. I’m sure the dog should be quite happy in her new digs!

For those who don’t know, “just a-looking for a home” phrase comes from the song “The Boll Weevil Blues.” Blind Lemon Jefferson, Pete Seeger & Dave Van Ronk all sang this—I’m sure others have, too, but those are the versions I know—other than my own.

We’re having another fun & busy weekend. Our good friends Sue & Jay are coming to visit from Portland, & we’ll be away all day tomorrow. While I’m pretty sure I'll be posting tomorrow, I’m less certain about Sunday. If something is posted Sunday it’s likely to be in the afternoon.

Have a good one!