Ostomy Memories of Roscoe

ROSCOE WAS A SWEET BOY who lived in the boondocks of central Utah with his human family, the Brownes. He spent a lot of time on his open front porch watching the world go by, but it happened to be February and it had snowed the past two days. Other than whatever was in his food bowl, few things excited this dusty black medium-sized, mixed-breed dog more than snow. With ears that rose up from his head like the sails on a skiff, he headed out one morning, the fresh snow about three inches deep, his nose either close to the ground or up in the air, on the alert for new sniffs. Soon he came to the top of a hill on which a couple of months accumulated snow rested. Something was out of place. Someone had left a piece of cardboard about four feet long and two feet wide next to a clump of brush at the top of the hill. Roscoe sniffed it and, in the process of his inspection, stepped upon it. It started to move down the hill. Roscoe was startled but unafraid, so he just squatted upon the cardboard and, gravity being what it is, he found himself sledding down the hill, his tail up and his tongue out. If he had the blessing of human thought, it would have been “This is great!” When he came to rest at the bottom of the hill, with no more hesitation than it took for him to turn a couple of excited circles in the snow, Roscoe picked up the cardboard in his mouth and, carrying it aloft proudly, trotted back up the hill. Once at the top, he dropped the cardboard, hopped once more upon it, and off he went, sledding down the hill, the happiest dog in the whole town. It’s hard to say how many times Roscoe skidded down that snowy hill on his makeshift sled. But that evening, as she was scooping Roscoe’s dinner into his bowl, Mrs. Browne noticed that he seemed somehow to have a wide smile on his face and, as it turned out, a heartier appetite than usual.

Hello HenryM. 

What a great memory! Don't you just love it when animals find a way to play without ever having to be 'taught' by their human companions.

Best wishes

Bill

Henry , what a great story with a happy ending . I can visualize Roscie snuggled by a fire resting !

I saw the a vidio of a dog doing that on face book. It was neet to watch. Best wishes and stay safe

My wife is on FB and showed me that video.  It is what gave me the idea for this post.

That is a lovely scene you have described there. Dogs love the snow for some reason. I take mine up North where there is snow and I have never seen them happier, they romp around in it for hours, look healthier too and have hearty appetites. Nearby there is a school for dogs run by the Army, they have mostly German Shepherds used for various tasks by the Army. The officer there asked me to donate two puppies from the Rhodesian Ridgebacks I have for training and use by them. Unfortunately, the latter are not easily trained like German Shepherds, they have a stubborn streak but I suppose the Army knows how to deal with that.