Monday Question

 What is the longest amount of time that you have been left home alone?

From the Desk of Foley Monster: Reilly and the Famly That You Belong With

 

As you know, dogs were put on earth to help humans, and in some cases, even save them, but sometimes dogs, through twists of fate end up at the wrong house.  The Big Angels tasked a dog named Reilly with protecting a young boy’s life.  But, a man with no children adopted him.  At first, Reilly figured another dog would take on the role of being the boy’s savior, but he had to know for sure.  

There is never a good reason for a dog to run away from home, but that is precisely what Reilly did. He only had a vague sense of what the boy who he tasked with helping smelled like. Determined, Reilly snuck out of the house; and he began to sniff the millions of scents embedded on the ground. After a few cases of mistaken sniffs, Reilly picked up the right trail and found the house where the boy lives.  

Unfortunately, there was no one home.   Reilly decided to lie down in front of the house and wait.  It was growing, cold, and dark.  A female neighbor saw Reilly, put a leash around his neck, and led him into her home. It was an obstacle for Reilly, but he was next door to where he wanted to be and was sure when the time was right, he would go across the lawn and warn the boy.

.    The woman who found him needed to go to work.  He did not need to take such drastic measures.  She went to the house where the boy lived and asked if the family would take care of Reilly until his family found him. The kids had been bugging their mom to get a dog, and she saw this opportunity to test if the kids could manage a pup.

Reilly found the boy who needed saving and made sure he closely bonded with him.  The four other children loved Reilly and they made sure that the dog wanted nothing to prove they could take care of a pup.  They passed all their tests swimmingly.

He was getting a lot of love, and where we wanted to be, his father was still looking for him.  Reilly sent one of the strangest prayer requests from a lost dog we had ever received:  He prayed that he stays lost for a little longer.  The children’s mother had put Reilly’s picture on Facebook and placed flyers with his face on it around town.  We angels had to steer Reilly’s dad away from these postings until he completed his task.

One night the mom came home from work and found Reilly waiting for her and frantically running from the boy’s room to the front door.  The mother went to the boy’s room and found him having a seizure.  She called an ambulance; they arrived and were able to treat the boy successfully.  His mom would not have checked on the boy if not for Reilly.  The dog had fulfilled his destiny.

Now we could enable his dad to find him, which we immediately did.  He called the house, and the mother answered.  When she learned that he was coming to pick up Reilly, she told her heartbroken children that the dog they had come to love had to go back to his owner.  The dad had come to know Reilly very well.  When he arrived at the house, Reilly jumped on him and gave kisses but then retreated to the family.  Reilly gave him one look that said it all:  “Thank you for being my dad.  You were terrific, and I love you very much, but this is my family now.”

The man loved the dog very much, which is why he knew he had to give him up.  He had provided Reilly a home, but now he had a family.  He told the mother and her children that he was sure Reilly would be happier with the family.  That is what you should be most concerned about when you love someone: Their well being. He told the delighted family that Reilly belonged with them, then took a moment to say goodbye to the special pup.  When he looked in Reilly’s eyes, he saw all the thanks he would ever need.  

We angels rewarded the father with a new rescue who has delighted him and proven to be a perfect companion.  The dad still thinks of Reilly, but he believes it all worked out for the best and knows he is in a great home.  Reilly and the family are constantly aware that their happiness is because of his dad’s devotion and sacrifice.  

Stories like this make me believe that the world may be a good place, even amongst all the bad.   

A Real Ghost Story By Foley Monster

 

We dogs are all supposed to protect our families. I learned countless stories that exhibit our incredible feats of strength and bravery when something threatens their parents.  Sometimes, dogs make the greatest sacrifice while battling evil forces who put their parents in danger. When we become angels, we can no longer physically protect our humans. But, there are incredibly determined dogs, who have aided, or avenged, their parents from the mortal side.  I recently met one such dog who was visiting who from the land called Happily Ever After.  He walked the Earth in the 1700s, and to this day, angels recall him being a dog whose ghost spirit was so strong he avenged his death. This is Blue’s story.

    He lived in England with his dad, Randolph, who was a drinker and a braggart.  Randolph liked to go to The Rusty Nail, a local bar in Blue’s native Manchester.  A few days before Blue got sent to the Bridge, a barrister arrived at Randolph’s home and gave him a bag of gold coins that was an inheritance of a deceased uncle.  In his excellent fortune, Randolph took some of his newly acquired gold coins and went to the Rusty Nail to celebrate.  He began to buy rounds and boast about his good luck.  Blue tried to warn him that he was inviting trouble, but Randolph refused to listen.  Blue warily eyed two men sitting in the corner.  They had taken an interest in Randolph’s story, and they did not smell right.

    When Randolph left the bar, the two men in the corner followed.  Dog and his master were crossing a Bridge when they heard horses approaching.  Blue recognized the smell.  It was the two men from the Tavern.  They dismounted and approached Randoph with guns drawn.  The men demanded that Randolph give them the gold coins he had on him and then bring them to his house to get the rest.  Aware that his good fortune could quickly disappear. Randolph refused to oblige and tried to feign ignorance.

    The men pointed their guns at Randolph and demanded his money.  Blue was growling at them, and when they approached, he lunged.  One of the men lifted his weapon and fired, hitting Blue in the chest. He was horrified to see his only companion grievously injured. Randolph abandoned a life of cowardness and charged the men, who fired, hitting Randolph in the stomach.  The men, afraid that someone had witnessed the shootings, remounted and rode into the darkness. 

    Randolph and Blue felt their lives leaking away.  They passed over with hand in paw.  The duo arrived at Rainbow Bridge together and prepared to cross, when Blue stopped, told his dad to go ahead because he had one more task to fulfill.  

    Blue, in ghost form, went back to the Bridge, and while he waited, he summoned a lifetime of energy to make his spirit as robust as possible.  Blue knew how men behaved, and he was sure that the hooligans would return to rifle through his master’s pockets looking for money and a clue to his home, where more gold awaited.  In the middle of the night, the men reappeared and began to search the body.  When they bent over the man Blue, in ghostly form, attacked them, biting on the legs and arms, until they left in terror, in need of medical duty.  

    Blue jumped in the water, floated until he came to the Bridge, climbed out, and crossed over minutes before he would have been exiled from the afterlife and forced to walk the world as a ghost. Blue had gathered so much power trying to be a spirit that he left a trace of himself on the mortal side.   To this day, when people cross that bridge late at night, some report seeing a ghost dog who looks like Blue waiting in the woods.  When approached, he disappears.  

    On Halloween, ghost hunters, both professional and amateur, flock to the bridge, hoping to catch a glimpse of the spirit dog.  There is no reason for them to be scared.  The ghost is friendly.  Unless you are a criminal, then he is a ghost avenger, and you should be terrified.

 

From the desk of Foley Monster: River's Attempt to Rid the World of Squirrels Causes Her to Believe the Wrong Person

River Song had enough.  Every morning she patrolled the yard and found the grass-covered in critter markings.  Neither she nor Pocket could drink enough water to cover the spots with their pee.  To rid her yard from the persistent pests, River needed a professional.

She searched Cujo's list on the Internet and saw a listing for Mr. Boone, who promised that only he could keep critters from sneaking into her yard.   River was sure this was the solution, but Pocket was skeptical.  Mr. Boone's Facebook page listed his occupation as a rainmaker, psychic, and snake oil salesman. Pocket cautioned River about Mr. Boone's credentials, but River had been bothered by critters for so long her desire to believe in a savior triumphed over her common sense.

Mr. Boone arrived the next day. He assured my sisters he knew more about vermin than anyone else, and only he could fix the problem.   He told them to go to sleep, and when they woke up, he would have solved all their problems.  Best of all, Mr. Boone promised he would not charge them a dime.  "All I want is a positive Yelp review."  What could be better?

Pocket and River did as instructed, and when they awoke, the house had a 10-foot wall with no gate surrounding it.  River ran outside and saw Mr. Boone standing on top of the wall.  "What have you done?". River cried.

"I built you a wall so the critters can't get in," Boone said triumphantly.   "Here's your bill.” Mr. Boone handed it to River.  "I thought you said there'd been no charge," she said.  

"Not for me but the supplies," he explained.

Pocket looked at the invoice.  "It says make check payable to Boone's Big Wall Supplies," she observed.

“'it's my brother's company—no connection to me. I used to own it.  My son runs it. You can make the check out to me.”  When Pocket saw a squirrel climbing over the wall, Mr. Boone said:  “That’s not a squirrel; I didn’t build that part of the wall, it’s just a furry duck.”

River knew her parents, who were shopping, would not be able to get to the house because of the wall, and even if they could, they would not be happy being surrounded by cement. Mr. Boone told River he would knock down the impediment and use another method to keep the squirrels out.  He told my sisters to go inside and relax.

They went back to sleep, and when they woke up, they smelled something most foul coming from the lawn.  When they went outside, they saw Mr. Boone on the grass, smiling broadly.  “I have covered your lawn with wolf pee,” he said.  It was horrible.  The girls couldn’t even get close to the grass without wanting to throw up.  “No squirrel will come on this lawn now,” Mr. Boone announced.

“No one else will either,” River said.  She looked down on the lawn.  “It’s killing the grass!” she barked.  “You have to get this smell off the lawn before my parents come home.”.  Mr. Boone agreed but gave River a bill for “Mr. Boone’s Big House of Large Wolves with Small Bladders.”  Mr. Boone claimed he was owed 120 pounds of kibble.  Frustrated, River told Mr. Boone she hoped he had better results with his next attempt.  He swore to River it would. 

A half-hour later, River went back outside.  The smell and the wall were gone.  Mr. Boone stood in the middle of the lawn, smiling broadly.  “I have removed all the squirrels from the yard!” he announced.  “I want you to tell your friends if they need a vermin free yard to contact Mr. Boone.”

“There’s a squirrel on the lawn,” Pocket said, pointing to one.

“No, there isn’t,” Boone said.

“Yes, there is,” Pocket insisted.

“I don’t see anything,” he said.

“How about the chipmunk near the garden?” River pointed out.

“It’s not there.  The chipmunks are all gone.  You are chipmunk free.”

Boone denied more vermin sighting.  An angry River insisted that Boone do something.  “I could give you all COVID-19,” he said.  “Then, no one will come in the yard.”

Determining that she did not want to send good kibble after bad, River gave in and told Mr. Boone she would send him payments, seriously curbing her food intake, which reminded him to produce a third bill, for Magic Vermin Repellent from Mr. Boone’s store. Finally, he packed everything into his bright orange truck and disappeared around the bend.

I do not blame River.  She was upset, wanted change, and believed someone too good to be true.  I don’t think she was the first one.  Hopefully, she is the last.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Beat This Caption

 

Tucker had long dreamed of his perfect Halloween costume:  Dog Delivering Beer While Getting Anal

Monday Question

 What movie of television show best describes your life?