On May 22, 2010 a tornado destroyed a large part of Joplin, Missouri. There were many people who were killed, and many more who were left without homes, but thanks to the Good Lord, and many good hearted people things are looking better. There were also many pets left homeless.
I have written of Archer previously, and our other dog which adopted us by swimming out of the Creek, onto the bank, and then following us home. Archer came from Joplin, after the tornado. We were dogless, until then. Our son James and his wife Amber lost their home in that tornado, and they had just taken Archer into their home, off the streets of Joplin; and along with their two dogs Pillar and Skillet survived the storm. They came and lived with us until they found another home. We took Archer as ours, and he has been here ever since that time.
It is amazing what dogs can drag into the yard. We have had bones large, medium, and small bones. I am constantly throwing them out of the yard – they work havoc on a lawn mower; at least make a lot of noise. They have dragged in an ‘Possum, a baby armadillo, not too long ago, a large mouse (and I do not mean a rat) that was almost as large as a rat, and the last thing they dragged in was a mystery at first, because it was headless with its entrails hanging out when they dragged it in, and left it in between our two cars; I finally figured out it was a young ground hog.
I do not know what will be next. I told my wife the other day; “I think our dogs are trying to show us that they are keeping themselves busy.”
We also have a pup. She is the offspring of the little Corgi mix mother which crawled up out of the Creek last July. She had seven pups. Five pups died, one by being run over while chasing a pickup driving by; the rest just mysteriously found dead. The other one we named Rascal, a male, and we gave him to our daughter and her family for Christmas. We call the mother “Little Girl” or Molly; we call her pup Little Bit, because she was the runt of the litter. Little Bit likes to stay in the yard most of the time and not wander off, like the other two do; and she is so timid.
If anyone would like to have a young dog, part Corgi, we would let you have the mother and the pup.
Life as it is along the banks of Flat Creek.
-Tim
edit – the date of the Joplin tornado was May 22, 2011.
Flat Creek Rolling 