We spent the first hour after our arrival getting Joseph bathed and put to bed. Afterwards, we grabbed plates of pasta salad and turkey burgers and headed outside to eat in the moonlight. Sitting in the warm summer air, we ate while Dad told us a story about Little Bit.
"I've walked pretty durn near every inch of this mountain. Little Bit goes along as my scoutin' dog."
At this point, Becky and I convulsed in laughter. My parents have six (yes, six) dogs. There's Emma - the Australian Shepard, George and Cricket - the golden retriever mixes, Lucy - the pit mix, Molly - the lab, and Little Bit - the chihuahua. All these big, beastly dogs and Dad takes Little Bit exploring. After we settled down, Dad looked at us in disgust and said,
"Little Bit is a great scoutin' dog. Now, I reckon we were about a mile out when Little Bit started growling. I thought she'd spotted another rattlesnake, " our eyes moved to the tree where a headless snake hide complete with ten rattles dangled, "but when I looked over, there was a cougar. That old sonofabitch looked at me and started up growling. I backed up. Didn't have my gun - that ain't likely to happen again. Anyway, that old cougar looked at me. I looked right back at him and he sprang! As he sailed over Little Bit, she jumped up and bit off that ol' boy's balls. The cougar roared and went runnin'. I've got me a neutered cougar roamin' this mountain."
I started laughing. Becky looked at him and said, "Wait. Was that true?" Dad got a big grin on his face and lit another cigarette. Seriously Becky. Have you ever known him to go anywhere without his gun?
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