Alli is our beautiful Golden Retriever. If you know anything about this breed, you will know that they are very smart, love the water (they actually have webbed feet), and love to retrieve... EVERYTHING. In Alli's case, she loves to chase and catch small pebbles. She does this for hours. Until she has worn out all the human throwing-machines around her. She will drag her favorite rock into the house and drop her treasure anywhere and since I am always barefoot I will step on it, bruise my heel and grit my teeth in pain, muttering sweet nothings under my breath. Ohhh, it hurts so much!She is also amazing in her ability to run the 4 miles into town and play in the park by the Yellowstone River. She's smart enough to know when the river is too deep and swift to safely swim in it, but after the Spring run-off she thoroughly enjoys herself.
On her way to the river, she passes the irrigation ditch, which she romps in, then next, passes junk-food-alley (McDonalds, Taco John's, Arby's and the Exxon station) and they will feed her their wares. If they are quick enough they catch her and call us... everyone in town knows Alli and knows us, because of her. The Exxon station, once, fed her three hot dogs, the ones that were tough as a tire from rolling around in the glass box all day, and then tied her up next to the newspaper stands with a garden hose until we got there to get her. Because of her roaming nature, I call her "Alli-Cat".
On her way to the river, she passes the irrigation ditch, which she romps in, then next, passes junk-food-alley (McDonalds, Taco John's, Arby's and the Exxon station) and they will feed her their wares. If they are quick enough they catch her and call us... everyone in town knows Alli and knows us, because of her. The Exxon station, once, fed her three hot dogs, the ones that were tough as a tire from rolling around in the glass box all day, and then tied her up next to the newspaper stands with a garden hose until we got there to get her. Because of her roaming nature, I call her "Alli-Cat". We have a million stories of her "running away". Once someone actually found her, kept her (even with her collar on, telling them our phone number) bought her a fancy new leash and then had the audacity to call the Animal Shelter, looking for her, when she ran away from them... the thieves!
The most recent experience was last weekend. She went on one of her pilgrimages to town and on her way, encountered a dead and rotting carcass. She rolled in it, gleefully, I am sure. Now, bloody, slimy and smelling of putrid, decaying flesh, she chewed on it and ended up bringing home a bone. Early the next morning she barfed up a pile of animal hair on the boy's bedroom carpet, which they graciously left for me to clean up.
She does this often. She has drug home so many bones that we could assemble them all together and create a new animal.
I have grounded her to the kennel. It has 7 foot sides and has to have a roof because she can climb/jump over it. She has to 'do her business' only in the kennel for the next week. I hope I have her trained soon. Here is a picture of Alli in jail and our other dog, Bo, visiting the inmate. He never runs away. Too chicken! 
Oh, my Beudalazy Dorg! I miss that disgusting ball of smelly fur! Course he probably smells even more now with rolling around in the wild. Oh, Bocutus!
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