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What could be nicer than a story with a happy ending? How about one with a little twist at the end, too? Try this one:
Once upon a time, about 40 years ago, my sister Shirlee had a dog named Bonnie. Bonnie originally was her youngest son Todd’s dog that he had received as a gift from his then-girlfriend. Todd was unable to keep Bonnie because of his travel and educational commitments, so he gave Bonnie to his mother,
Bonnie was a beautiful small collie, but she had a few problems, like running through closed screen doors.
Bonnie became Shirlee’s constant companion, going just about everywhere with her in the car. But, Bonnie had a propensity for chewing up the car’s sun visors when left alone while impatiently waiting for her mistress to return.
After replacing several sun visors, Shirlee tried another approach: When she had to go grocery shopping at the Elm Road Plaza, she took Bonnie along in the car. When she arrived at the store, she took Bonnie with her to the entrance to the grocery store. In spite of Bonnie’s idiosyncrasies, Bonnie was quite obedient. Shirlee told Bonnie to stay at the entrance, and went into the store while Bonnie waited. Shirlee knew that Bonnie would be there when she returned.
After completing her shopping, Shirlee returned to the entrance to retrieve Bonnie. No Bonnie. Shirlee called and called, but still no Bonnie. Finally, two grocery boys who had been retrieving the grocery carts from the parking lot, came up to Shirlee and asked her if the dog she was calling for was a small collie. The boys told her that a woman had picked up the dog and drove away with it.
Unfortunately for Shirlee, she had just given Bonnie a bath, and had not put on the dog’s collar with its requisite license and identification. (Incidentally, this was in the days before the current leash laws.)
Shirlee was very upset, but the only thing she could think of in order to get Bonnie back was to put an ad in the Tribune offering $50 for Bonnie’s return.
A few days passed. Then, one afternoon, the phone rang. It was a call from Shirlee’s good friend who worked as an assistant at the Town and Country Veterinary Hospital. Her friend very quietly told Shirlee that a woman was there with a dog on the examining table that looked just like Bonnie. The woman was getting the dog inoculated.
Shirlee was on her way immediately, but when she arrived at the vet’s office, the woman had taken off, leaving the dog there. It was Bonnie all right. Shirlee had to pay the vet bill, but she had her Bonnie back!
So, we come to the end of the story. This is where we should say, “And they lived happily ever after.” Well, not quite. About a day later, with Shirlee and Bonnie basking in the reverie of old friends reunited, the phone rang. The person on the other end identified herself as the person who had taken the dog, and she wanted the $50 reward money. The woman explained that she needed the money to replace her sun visors, because the dog had chewed them all up!
Now, that’s the end of the story.
Mumford, of Warren, is a community columnist. E mail him at columns@tribtoday.com