Tales from the Bark Side

By Keith Ross | The Daily Journal

Published Saturday, August 11, 2007

Welcome back to the bark side of life here in Ottertail where the rumble of distant thunder rolls across the horizon like somebody just had a strike at the celestial bowling alley in the sky.

Did you ever tell your kids (when they were small and growing up) that the angels were bowling? We need the rain and the farmers need it for their crops but not so much that it ruins the crops. It seems to me a lot of things in life are a question of balance. This week we have a cat that has balance of his own — kinda!

Pat Herder of Ottertail shared this tale and another piece (get out the tissues for that one, too) for this week's entry in the “best critter tales” contest.

“Back in August of 2002, I was in Yankton, S.D., for “Riverboat Days.” I stopped at Fish-N-Stuff. They had one room filled with at least 20 kittens. Two months prior, my favorite cat, “B.C.” went to “Rainbow Bridge.” This tiny little gray kitty followed me all over the pet store and wouldn't leave me alone. The owner of the store was laughing. She said, “You have a 'Shadow'!” Needless to say, I brought my Shadow home.

At Christmas, I made a wreath to hang on my door. He thought it was for him and wouldn't let me hang it up. He would knock it down and sleep in it.

He's older now and has no interest in wreaths. His favorite place at Christmas now is to be the “star” on the top of the tree. That's why I call him ‘Shadow the Psycho South Dakota Cat.’”

Thank you, Pat, for your lovely letter. OK, folks, here is a sweet tear jerker that I'm sure you'll enjoy.

I reflect, sometimes, about what an honor I have to be a part of people's lives and their special memories of dear friends they have had in their lives. I am eternally grateful to you, the readers of this column, for making this forum what it is. I'm looking forward to doing this for a very long time.

There are others to whom I am also indebted and they are my sponsors for the contests we put on in this paper: Wal-Mart, Dave Peters Jewelers, The Country Store, The City Bakery, Coopers Technology, Don Pablo's and Dan's Vacuum. All are contributing a prize of some sort (that will be revealed at a later date).

If you want to enter the contest, email me at info@rosswoodkennels.com or write to me at Keith Ross, Richville MN 56576 or phone me at 218-495-2195.

Keith Alan Ross writes from his New York Mills home.