Scooter’s Close Call & The Turkey That Got Away

01Hi! Scooter here. I know you’ve missed me and I have important news.

So last week Mom and Dad went to see Maizie in Ann Arbor. She is my niece dog. (I am Uncle Scooter.) I had to stay home. Anyway, I’m not sure when or how I did this, but I flipped or scrunched, or did something and my dog tags got twisted and caught in my kennel, near the bottom, just by the door.

The picture above is a reenactment. Since I couldn’t see what happened I asked Mom. Mom said she really didn’t notice. She just couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t coming out when she opened the kennel door. I love my “house” but I love Mom and Dad more so when they come home I always come out, shake, and then greet them, showing them my tail and attached rump, which are my best features.

Well, I didn’t come out. Since I was facing the other door, Mom opened the other door. (My house has two doors.) When I still didn’t come out, Mom saw what happened and clicked off my collar. We don’t have a reenactment of that, but she was super fast. Then I came out and shook, and you know, showed them my behind.

Mom was really freaked out. She loved me up more than usual, which is a lot. And she kept staring at me all day and followed me around. This is hard to do because usually I follow her around. So we went in circles. She wanted to see if I was traumatized. My illustrious predecessor, Madison, went a little nutso after a thunder storm zapped the power and set the alarm off in the house when he was home alone. He was never the same since. As Mom has mentioned before, I am different. Way different. Nothing bothers me. I went in my house several times, just like normal, so Mom was reassured I was OK. I am nutso in other ways. The same ways as before.

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That night Mom invented a special thing for my collar. It’s called a Tag Restraint. Or a Sock Collar. Maybe we should call it the No Jingle Thing.

02She cut up a piece of microfleece that just happened to be on the floor and just happened to match my collar exactly. (The sewing room is a magical place.) My collar is 1.5″ wide, so she cut the strip 3″ wide and about 9″ long. The straight of grain ran the long way. I don’t know what that means except that the material stretched more sideways than longways so it would stretch to go over my dog tags.

03 Mom doesn’t know how to use a serger, so she picked stitch #12 on her Bernina which moves the fabric up and down as it sews. The seam is stretchy that way.  She sewed a 1/4″ seam and then turned the tube right side-out and pulled it over the part of my collar that has my dog tags.

 

04 So now my collar looks like a snake that ate a mouse. I have never met a snake before, but I would like to lick a mouse, and I know it’s not really a mouse in there, so I like it. Plus it makes me silent. Except for the gallumphing when I run. After all, I am a big beast with thundering paws!

05 Here I am posing with my tennis ball. The snow is melting now and the lawn is growing balls. Spring is wonderful.

Anyway, I am now Stealth Dog. Except when I bark.

That reminds me; I have a funny story to tell you. So I noticed a wild turkey in the back yard yesterday. They fly in from time to time. They have to fly in because the yard has a big fence around it and they are not incredibly intelligent and they can’t find the gates to open and walk in. Come to think of it, neither can I. Oh well, continuing….

So I spot the turkey. I bark and bark like a maniac, you know like when we have a home invasion. We have those all the time, mostly squirrels in the yard, the UPS delivery, visitors, the dog three houses down, loud birds, wind if there is nothing else going on. Mom tells me to shush. And this is where not paying attention to her really pays off. So she comes to the slidey door to see why I am berserking. She sees the turkey at the back fence about 100 feet away. Then she tells me it’s a bird and birds are our friends. Then I think she segued into a recipe for lemon meringue pie. I really wasn’t listening after BIRD. I think she said I could chase it but it would just fly away, I don’t know. Like I said I wasn’t really listening.

Then she opened the door! I was out like a shot. I chased the turkey back and forth across the yard. First we went fast, then I just loped after it. Then we sped up again. Then Mom was running after us. What a great game! I’m barking, Mom is yelling, and the bird is loving it because he’s not flying away! We have GREAT birds here. The turkey is just running as fast as his little legs can carry him, just like Saturday morning cartoons except for the background music.

By time Mom caught me by the Stealth Collar, the turkey had taken a header in some leaves. It just fell over. I was trying to revive it by sniffing it vigorously in all its places but Mom pulled me into the house. Then Dad went out to investigate. I barked from inside. Dad looked for it by the leaves but it was gone. Then we all saw it walking around by the back fence again! So Dad opened the gate and it walked out. I have looked everywhere for it, but I think Dad scared it away.

That was all very exciting. I think you should watch my video so you can rest a little. I will bark if you don’t. Come to think of it, I might bark if you do!

Love,

Scooter Simms

Pleases remember: if you get this blog in your email box, click the TITLE of the blog post (in blue) to get the video to play and to enlarge the images. Clicking the TITLE will take you directly to my blog, where all the good stuff happens.

56 thoughts on “Scooter’s Close Call & The Turkey That Got Away”

  1. Hi Scooter, when I click on your video, it says, “This video is private.”

    I loved the story of the turkey in the yard. Your tag silencer sounds like a simple and elegant great idea. Glad Ami thought of it. :-)

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  2. Hi Scooter….Margo here….i did something similar with my tags when I was visiting my “sister” (she’s really mom’s daughter)…anyway….I was sleeping on the floor and tried to get up but I couldn’t, I was trapped! After I panicked and kept trying & trying to get up, mom figured out what was going on! My tags had gotten trapped in the furnace register vent…whew! What an experience! But it all turned out well!

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  3. Hi Scooter I am so glad you mom is so quick thinking about releasing you and fixing a tag protector for you. I had heard that it is so dangerous for dogs on wooden decks as well since their tags could get caught in the spaces between boards when lying down especially the tags that look like dog bones. Glad you are ok.

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  4. Next time I catch Moxie sucking on Lambchop’s left ear (never the right ear), I will try to send a picture or maybe a video to you, Scooter.

    Chasing the turkey must have been fun. We used to have a cottage in the mountains and Moxie always wanted to chase them but usually they had their babies with them so that was not allowed.

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  5. Love your story, Scooter. Reminded me of our Golden number 2 when we picked her from her litter in PA. There were several turkeys in the yard at her birth house. She was the first one down the stairs outside and chased the turkeys. She was all of 8 weeks old at the time. My husband thought that she would be a great bird hunter. She was the best of the 5 Goldens that we have had. She hunted and cuddled in bed until she was 14.

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  6. Hi Scooter! Tigger here. I wish I had a turkey in my yard. Your stealth collar sounds ingenious, but I don’t want one. I rattle my collar when I need Mom to play with me, let me out, or give me a treat. I hope she doesn’t get any ideas about silencing me.

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  7. Scooter, I like your mom’s invention. I just read last week that we should not be put in kennels with our collars on because we could choke. I don’t have to worry because I don’t have a kennel. I guard from the back of the couch and snuggle with mom at night. I have trained her very well

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  8. Hi Scooter!
    Snickers here. We haven’t had any turkeys in our yard (although we’ve seen them up the road), but we get squirrels in our yard. Mom likes to put birdseed in the feeders, and she even has a squirrel baffle on the pole to try to keep squirrels from feeders, but those greedy squirrels get on the feeders and throw the seed all over. Mom says they are really rats with furry tails. Dad says squirrels will bring fleas into the yard, too. I sure don’t want to get fleas!

    When Mom sees a squirrel or two on the birdfeeders, she goes nuts, and then I get all excited and beg her to let me chase them. Even though I’m almost 12 and have a bad hip, I still run like Wylie Coyote in the Road Runner cartoons! Usually, I chase them all the way through the back yard until they escape into the neighbors’ yard, but sometimes they fool me, and escape up the oak tree. Mom says they are laughing at me running all the way through the yard while they’re up there sitting in the oak tree. That makes me so MAD! One of these days, I’m going to catch one and sink my fangs into it. Blech! I bet squirrel isn’t even very tasty.

    In the summer, I like to hop with the toads. They hop, so I hop, then, sometimes we hop together. Sometimes, I hop ON them, but then they quit playing with me for some reason. I give them a nudge with my nose, but nope – they’re done. They won’t play anymore. Mom says I can’t do that because I weigh 95 pounds. Yes, I can! I hop really well!

    Sorry to hear about the tag incident. My dog cousin, Betty Sue, got her tag hook stuck in the berber carpet once. She got loose, but pulled up a long piece of yarn.

    Well, Scooter, good job on chasing the turkey. I’ll talk to you later, but now it’s time for my nap. Later!

    Snickers Flock

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    2. Hi Snickers, Chase here (Golden). We have those nasty squirrelies in our yard too. Last night it all came to an end when we had a bear tear down the bird/squirrel feeder. Mom was one day late in taking them down!

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      1. Yikes! BEARS?! Really? I think if we had bears Mom would make me learn how to use the human potty.
        Respectfully yours,
        Scooter

        PS: Please don’t tell the bears where I live.

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  9. Thanks for telling us your story. I hope mom gave you a hug from me. Saw her at the Lancaster show and asked her if she brought you along. Then she came and gave me a hug cause I’m a newsletter reader. Sadly my granddaughter dog has a torn ACL and her parents have to decide what to do. OP is too expensive and cannot afford it. Hope the specialist can come up with a better plan

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  15. Love the Turkey story Scooter! Cooper, Zoey and Bella would like me to tell you that they keep the Chipmunks out of our yard and they clean up all of the bird seeds that our feathered friends leave.

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  16. Hi Scooter! You are so adorable! I loved your story about you and the turkey! Tell your Mom I said hello. I met her in Lancaster at her lecture..I was the one who won the BIG prize at her show. Tell her I was able to thank three of the vendors for their generous gifts. Hope to hear from you again, Scooter!
    Susan Duryea

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    1. Hi Susan,
      Thank you for telling me I am adorable. That feels nice. I told Mom you said hello. Congratulations on winning the big prize. You’re so sweet to say thank you. So, Thank YOU for commenting.
      Scooter

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  18. How incredibly scary! That’s the sole reason we don’t keep our Madison’s collar on her unless we/she is leaving the house. Grabbing the collar sends her into super-spaz because she knows that means she is going somewhere! I have nightmares about the exact same thing! The tag restraint is brilliant! Hugs to you Scooter and mom!

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  19. Hi Scooter. My name is Misty–or should I say “was.” I was Mommy & Daddy’s first dog and although I am now in Heaven, God got us e-mail so I can read about your adventures whenever I want. Your turkey tale was so funny! I was a squirrel chaser myself and one day, July 4th no less, I was at work and tripped in a chipmunk hole. I dislocated my knee! My dear doctor came to his office to treat me and I gave him lots of kisses. Why did he wipe off his face? You can be sure I added chipmunks to my list of “chasees.” We had turkeys all over the place but they never came in our fenced yard. Instead, we had fawns (M & D had to open the gate for them) and bears. Our birds also scattered seed all over so Mama Bear came to eat one day. Fortunately, we had heard of a PA law that requires feeders to be no less than 10 feet off the ground and no less than 4 feet from a tree trunk or branch. Our house was, still is, right across the Delaware River in NY but we thought PA was very smart so we followed what they said. Dad put ours on a pulley system for easier cleaning and filling. Anyway, we watched the bear climb the tree and swat at the feeder. Despite four tries she never reached it but it was fun to watch. Then she climbed back down, climbed over the fence and went to dine at the neighbor’s. BTW, when I was adopted in 1974, as a 6-week old pup, I overheard the adoption lady tell M & D to never ever put me in my house with my collar on or I might end up in your situation. She also cautioned them about heat and a/c vents, decks and the like. Fortunately neither I nor all M & D’s subsequent doggies ever had a problem but Mommy is still going to make the tag thingy just in case. You are very beautiful and had our lives intersected I would have made a play for you, even though I was a Weimaraner. Don’t you love being a dog and caring for your housemates? I sure did. Love, Misty

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  20. Great story Scooter – but I was hoping the video was going to be of you and the turkey. Guess your mom was too busy chasing both of you and your dad was not home. That would have been great to see. Keep in touch! Dot

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    1. Yes, I wish we had pictures of me and the Turkey. Mom didn’t have shoes on the first time she ran after me, so expecting her to get a camera is more than her small brain can handle.
      Scooter

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  21. Scooter, You need to learn to use the tools you have. Even though we have jingle bells on the door, I usually prefer to let my humans know what I need by just giving them “the look”. Just freeze and stare till they drop their reading, sewing, computing, etc., and they will be happy to accommodate you – unless it STILL isn’t time for dinner!

    I’m glad you learned the danger of tags without any harm.

    (another) Maizy.

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    1. Oh yes. I do the STARE. Then I put my head on Mom’s thigh and push down. Makes it hard for her to use the knee lift on her Bernina. The head trick is most effective after a drink of water.

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  22. Hi, Scooter .. I am a human with a human roommate who doesn’t type either. But she did read your adventures with the turkey and had tears running down her cheeks from laughing. Rascal the terror, er terrier, who lives with us chases lizards, bugs and anything he can find. He also plays with Baby, our long haired yellow cat. Baby is very happy being played with, even by a dog! We will all look forward to your letters. P.S. Your mom sure writes nicely.

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  24. Thank you for sharing this Scooter! Our Mom and Dad have safe wire houses for us too, and Mom is going to make us tag covers right away! We are so glad that you are OK.

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  25. Scooter: Thanks for sharing your Mom’s tag cover pattern!! My mom started locking me out of her room at night because my tags made so much noise but now she is making a cover so I can sneak in and out of her bed without disturbing her! I love you both!!! Millie

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  26. Glad you weren’t traumatized by your stuck collar tags, Scooter. Our little Toby got his collar stuck on the big dogs scrolled metal dish holder (he was licking their dish just in case they left a crumb of food in there). He was dragging the thing around the kitchen, and was so scared. I love Ami’s idea for a cover for your tags, and I’m going to make one of those for Toby. Your Mom always has such good ideas! Tell her thank you for me!

    Hugs from Marcia Middents

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  27. Hi, Scooter. My name is Pepper and I am a ‘red’ Golden Retriever. I am glad that my Mom just found your Mom’s blog and this post since I love to go into the open crate when it is warm (which is in a kennel with a dog house also). I am going to have Mom make me a cover tomorrow so I am safe when they are not home. Hopefully she can make it easily removable since I let her know that I want to go outside and so she can find me in the yard by making my tags jingle. Glad you are OK.

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