āDang it, Kid! Whatās goinā on? We got a Saloon ta run.ā
āWhatās the problem Pal?ā
āYer the problem. First those goats and now thet pig of yersā thet pig should not be in this āstablishment.ā
āThis is not āa pigā, not any pig; this is Curly. My pig. Lookit āer. Aināt she the cutest?ā
āGit āer out afore the Board a Health comes by.ā
āOh, sheās plenny healthy, āan asides, sheās a service hog. See the vest sheās wearinā?ā
āSays āServusā.ā
āOops. Serves us right fer dāpendinā on spell chick. But the point is, that vest means sheās got ta ācompāny me wherever I go. āCause a PTS.ā
āPTS? You?ā
āNo, you. Pal Totally Stresses. Pet Curly, Pal, scratch her bāhine the ears. Itāll make ya feel good ta make Curly feel good.ā
āEnough a yer nonsense, Kid. What if Shorty come in here, saw this piglet a yers runninā ārounā the saloon?ā
āReckon sheād say the place āas gone ta the hogs! Anyway, Charli Mills hersef said itās okay ta have this here puglet on the ranch and even here at the saloon. Ya know why?ā
āNo, Kid. Why?ā
āāCause World Headquarters āas gone ta the dogs! Thereās a Mause in the House!ā
āOh yeah, there was mention a thet.
āWell, Kid, them folks was sorely missinā their olā German Shorthair Poināers. Reckon it was time. All right, letās have a look.
āOh, she sure is a cutie, Kid. Yep, I kin see the Millsiz gittinā a GSP at this time. But thet still donāt make it okay fer you ta have this piglet here as a pet. āMember, you gittinā thet pig was all a mistake anyhow, ācause a spell chuck, er should I say, folks not double checkinā the spell cluck.ā
āDonāt matter, Pal. Like the song says, ya jist gotta love the hog ya got. Anyway, Curly needs me.ā
āBull shift Kid. Only ācause you need her ta need you.ā
āIāll take it. Tell ya what, she aināt never said a discouraginā word ta me.ā
āHmmf. Ya caināt trust a pig, Kid. Theyāll squeal on ya.ā
āHar har.ā
āOkay Kid, enough already. Have ya got a innerview lined up or ainātcha?ā
āAināt. No innerview this week.ā
āKaraoke? Recipe Rustlinā? Anythinā?ā
āNope. Nope. Anāā¦ nope.ā
āWhut? Why not?!ā
āāCause everāoneās been on the road, Pal, anā takinā care a their pets. Even D. Averyās been travālinā, jist moved up from her home a thirty years back ta her āriginal stompinā grounās. Her lil cat was ridinā shotgun, all gussied up in her red harness. Thinkinā Curly needs a red harness, what dā you think?ā
āJeez, Kid, I think ya need ta focus! We need ta give the folks somethinā. Caināt believe ya aināt got a innerview this week.ā
āWell, I kin wing itā¦
Folks, welcome ta the Saddle Up Saloon. Well, howdy Mause!ā
āYer innerviewinā thet new puppy a Charli Mills?ā
āYep. Now shushā¦ Mause, I unnerstanā ya jist had a long road trip with yer new ferever famāly. How was it?
āRuff.ā ā
āReally, Kid?ā
āShush Pal. Yep, Mause, it was rough but itās all good now. Letās see, the Millsiz, Charli anā the Sarge, they traveled all day anā inta the dark a night ta git ya. It was blowinā snow anā it was uphill both ways!ā
āIs thet true Kid?ā
āUh, only parts of it. Dramatic effect Pal. But they did travel all day anā went inta Wisconsin, which, fer yer information, aināt Mishugin. Which meant they got ta show Mause off ta their son anā daughter-in-law.ā
āWhy would they do thet? Wouldnāt they wanna git on back ta Headquarters?ā
āHave ya ever had a pet, Pal? This hereās a new member a the famāly. Anā I reckon, cute as Mause is, Charli still takes any chance ta see her āriginal two-legged pups.ā
āReckon.ā
āOkay, on with the innerviewā¦ Mause, what did ya say when Sarge anā Charli got ya back ta HQ, aka the Roberts Street Writery?
āHoooooooome! Hooooooome!ā
Oh, what a howl. Yep, ya got a good home, lil Mause. Anā yer in extra good hanās ācause Sarge is a vet.ā
āNot thet kinda vet Kid.ā
āThatās all right Pal, Iām doctorinā the truth fer this āun. Anyways, Sarge is really good with dogs anā he sure knows German Shorthair Poināers.ā
āThetās true. Ha! Reckon this lil pup anā Charli Mills got somethinā in common.ā
āYa mean asides the Sarge?ā
āYep. Theyāll both be workinā on papers fer a while.ā
āOh yeah. Mebbe she figgered she didnāt have quite ānough on her plate, so she took on this here pup too.ā
āAw. Itāll be fine. Got anuther photo, Kid?ā
āYep. Oh, look hereā¦.
Looks like Mause will also be workinā on a miracle a duck. Think I should git Curly a chew toy, Pal? Oh, never mind, sheās got yer boots looks like.ā
āCurly no! Dang it, Kid, ya gotta keep a better eye on this critter. No, donāt pick āer up anā cuddle āer.ā
āBut she wants ta be cuddled, Pal. See? Themās happy grunts.ā
āWhat ābout when ya caināt pick āer up anymore?ā
āHadnāt thought ābout that. But I am workinā on traininā her. Watch.
Sit, Curly, sit.
See? Ohhhhhā¦. oops.ā
āHa! Sit? Mebbe she jist misunnerstood thet command, thought ya saidā¦ thet. Clean thet up Kid. Jeez. This innerview stinks.ā
āOh yeah. The innerviewā¦.
Mause, dāya have other two-legged siblings? Whatās that? Ya say ya have one in the Bark-tic? Oh, anā the other one come ta welcome ya ta the Keweenaw?ā
āBet theyās all āmemberinā Bobo anā Boboās brother, Grenny. Dāya sāpose Charliāll read The Poetās Dog ta Mause?ā
āMebbe, or some other fittinā book. Reckon fer a while itās all go dog go arounā there. Do ya read ta Curly?ā
āāCourse! In fact I highly recommend Chester the Worldly Pig by Bill Peet, even if ya aināt got a puglet a yer own.ā
āHuh. Kid whutās this? Three stages a puppy?ā
āSeems thatās a meme, Pal. Huh. Wunner if Curly will follow the same dāvelopmennal trajectāry as Mause?ā
āWhen pigs fly.ā
āThen the middle stageād be a pterosaur. Hey Pal, Mause is prānounced mouse, right?ā
āYep.ā
āSoā¦ if they cloned lilā Mause theyād be called Mice?ā
āKidā¦ā
āAnā Pal, how come baby pigs is piglets but baby dogs are puppies? Whynāt they doglets?ā
āYa know whut, Kid, Iāve had enough. You close up, Iām headinā back ta the bunkhouse.ā
āWatch yer step Pal.ā
āWhut? Thet a threat? Whooooaaaa! Oof. Ow.ā
āYer slippinā Pal. Was more like a warninā. I aināt cleaned up after Curly yet. Seems ya stepped in it. Hey, now yer boots been chewed and pooed!ā
āDang it, Kid!ā
āMause says, paws anā take a break.ā
āThet aināt funny.ā
āThen Iāll stop laughinā Pal. Here. Bāfore ya go, letās let Mause have the last word. Though Iām thinkinā weāll all be hearinā more ābout her from the hossās mouth, so ta speak.ā
Write on, Mom!
āWelcome ta Carrot Ranch, Mause. Take good care a the folks at Headquarters.ā
If asked, Pal & Kid will deny that they spill from the pen of D. Avery. They claim to be free ranging characters who live and work at Carrot Ranch and now serve up something more or less fresh every Monday at the Saddle Up Saloon. If you or your characters are interested in saddling up to take the stage as a saloon guest, contact them via shiftnshake@dslayton.com.
Adorable! (And, I mean Mause -sorry Pal and Kid.)
‘S’alright. We git thet.
We are Loving Mause in the UK
Dang I jist thought of a joke, but not sure if I should say it.
Jist put out a disclaimer Kid. What kind a joke?
See Pal, thet’s the thing. Why are there kinds a jokes? Why is there sech a thing, fer ‘zample, as a Irish joke?
Yer gonna tell it anyways ain’tcha?
Yep… mebbe it’s funny, mebbe it’s not, but what d’ya call Mause in Ireland? Micky Mause.
Eh.. an’ if she were among the leprechauns? Mini Mause.
Mebbe we should jist thank Ellen and git, Pal.
Yep. Thanks Ellen, sorry Ellen.
????
I picked up a book from my free library that I was gonna mail off ta D. but if she ain’t gonna be there no more I’ll jist give ya the title. Since really it’s more for Kid Mebee ya kin find it at yer library? Iffn’ D. wants it – have her email me – I’d be happy to send it media rate.
Pigs of Paradise; The story of the World Famous Swimming Pigs, by T.R.Todd “The Bahamas is famous for sun, sand and – swimming pigs.” – National Geographic.
Glad to hear that Mause’s got a great forever home! Thanks fer sharn’ all them photos.
Thinkin’ that true life pig story might give Curly ideas. Soun’s like a good read, an’ a good reason ta s’port the local library or bookstore. Thanks fer thinkin’ a me an’ Curly. Yer a sight kinder then Pal. -Kid
A while ago I (and I sorta still belong) was a member of this cool place called BookCrossing.
You can look ’em up. They support setting books free. Every once in a while I still get a notice of a book I gave an ID number to and where it got picked up.
Now though, while I kin’ only get in my library if I schedule a 15 minute browsing time. So I’ve been frequentin’ a few different Little Free Library locals near me.
Iffn’ we kin have a Poetree and goats why not a lake near the Saloon for Curly to swim in… though mebe the water needs to be warm. Don’t think Pal’ll want a spa attached to the Saloon, en? š
Reblogged this on ShiftnShake and commented:
Kid drops the ball, but there’s a puppy to point to it and a puglet to fetch it. Come by the Saddle Up Saloon to say howdy and congratulations to Charli Mills and (expanded) family.
“went inta Wisconsin, which, fer yer information, aināt Mishugin.” I’m not sure why, but I thought this line was genius. Cracked me up.
What is up with everyone getting a puppy? It’s cute, though. Seems like good times are on the horizon. Thanks for the introduction!
In an earlier challenge post Charli linked to a video where some guy was claiming Michigan as a part of Wisconsin, or something like that. Michigan’s geography with all it’s fingers and thumbs and water lined mittened appendages confound and confuse even some local folks. So Kid felt like clarity was necessary.
There is a second surge in pet adoptions just now, with the first last April. Hmm? What could be instigating that?
In the matter of Mause, this is not a Covid response , but the continuation of a family tradition of having a GSP in the Mills home. It IS a sign of good times on the horizon! For Mause’s family and beyond.
I read, just the other day, how someone got sued because they allowed their dog to get pregnant without having a license to breed. The supposed problem – people are trying to make money from all the sudden demand.
There’s that and there’s letting unsuspecting characters like Kid take a piglet thinking it’s a puglet dog. We need to be wary of more than the virus these days. There’s a surge in spam as well, both the hoarding of rectangular globs of ?? and the attempted trickery in the inbox.
Of course some unexpected dog pregnancies are just old fashioned accidents? These people must have been pushing a breed that was not certified or however that works.
Aww, yay! My dog is 3 and believes he’s a shark! All the kids and neighbors know he’s not to be interacted with.
Oh my. I wonder if Mause will identify as a shark. I mean it’s okay, it’s just that Charli and the Sarge are used to GSPs. But, yeah, ya love the one ya got, and they love Mause no matter and you have a loved shark, all good. Do you play the Jaws music when you walk, as a warning?
Haha, no. He’s his own social distancing mechanism.
I read this pausing to say aww all the way through. What a lovely dog, welcome Mause to the family Carrot Ranch. Give Mause a hug and pat from me.
Kid, sure glad you rescued that piglet and gave Curly a forever home. Mause is happy with her new family, too. You should get Curly chew sticks. Mause is getting a chew-carrot. Tell your D. thanks for introducing the petting zoo!
So nice to meet Curly and Mause. I think both have wonderful forever families. Best wishes to all.
Thanks! Carrot Ranch and HQ are blessed. Good humans and good pets.
Exactly!
A German Shorthair Pointer with the name of a German hunting rifle. Very fitting. Her face “had me from hello.” What a cutie.
And I’m partial to the puglet too. Any critter is a good critter.
Thanks for the introductions.
Happy ta do it. Yer right, this is a mighty fine pair a critters.
Yes! The veteran family understands the name! š
A very clever welcome to Mause at the Ranch.
We’re jist so happy fer Charli an’ the rest a her fam’ly. Had ta share this good news.
OMG! I loved this! You ladies make me smile every day! Tomorrow, we move into our house in East Lansing! It’s finally happening. I’ll get in touch after the WIFI gets hooked up! <3
Mause has skyrocketed to the ranks of therapy pup. ????
Yep, we heard thet. Any word on the puglet? Is Curly really a ther’py hog?
Oh, I loved this!!
We aim ta please.
????
My favorite line, “Ya caināt trust a pig, Kid. Theyāll squeal on ya.ā Cute pup, cute post. Kid and Pal were really in their zone today.
Yep, this’ll be a hard act ta follow.
Not every word out of any kid’s mouth is quotable! LOL I had to laugh when I read that one, though!