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91 Just a Gig­ olo A damp and gusty wind ­ slammed the door be­ hind ­ George as he came in­ doors. “Well, Hans, it looks like the fall has come and gone. It’s start­ ing to rain, and the sky is get­ ting ­ pretty black to the south­ west. Mark my words, by to­ night it’s going to turn into the first snow of the win­ ter.” “I sup­ pose we’d bet­ ter head for home be­ fore it gets any worse,” Hans said. He and his ter­ rier, Ollie, had ­ dropped by the lodge at the end of their morn­ ing walk. A po­ lite bark inter­ rupted them. Rus­ sell had been swim­ ming in the lake, and now he was sit­ ting on the porch and ask­ ing to come in. ­ George ­ opened the door about an inch. “Rus­ sell, shake!” he com­ manded, and Rus­ sell shook him­ self from head to tail, rat­ tling the tags on his col­ lar and throw­ ing water up, down, and side­ ways. Ollie met Rus­ sell at the door and the two dogs began to wres­ tle­ gently in front of the fire­ place. Hans was im­ pressed. “Boy, I sure wish Ollie could learn to shake him­ self like that—be­ fore he comes in, ­ rather than after. That ­ frizzy coat of his soaks up a lot of rain, and if we don’t dry him off he­ leaves a trail of water all over the house.” “Shak­ ing off the water is part of ­ Russell’s train­ ing for duck hunt­ ing,”ex­ plained ­ George.“A big wet dog isn’t an ideal com­ pan­ ion in a small duck blind.” “Rus­ sell ­ O’Malley, PhD,” Hans said. “Yeah, he’s a smart one. He can trace his an­ ces­ tors far­ ther back than I can. A lot of his rel­ a­ tives are field cham­ pions, and his Just a Gigolo 92­ grandpa was a bona fide hero—he ran into a burn­ ing build­ ing once.” “To res­ cue a child?” Hans asked. “No, there ­ weren’t any chil­ dren, so he came back out with the fire in­ su­ rance pol­ icy ­ wrapped in a wet towel.” Helen gave ­ George a dis­ gusted look. “For God’s sake, ­ George, you know that never hap­ pened,” she said. “Maybe not,” said ­ George, with a wink at Hans, “but it makes a hel­ luva story, and ­ that’s the im­ por­ tant thing.” “Is there any­ thing Rus­ sell ­ doesn’t know?” Hans asked. “He’s just start­ ing to learn scent track­ ing,” re­ plied ­ George. “For in­ stance, if Helen is out for a walk and I can’t see her, I’ll give Rus­ sell one of her shoes to sniff and tell him to ‘find Helen,’ and most of the time he’ll fol­ low her scent trail until he lo­ cates her.” “Thanks a lot, ­ George,” Helen said. “Now Hans knows I have­ smelly feet.” “No more than any­ one else,” said ­ George. “To a dog, any human foot must smell like a cir­ cus in Au­ gust.” “You’re get­ ting in ­ deeper, ­ George,” Helen ­ warned. “Bet­ ter quit while you can.” “I’ll get out of here so you two can fight in peace,” Hans said. “You’re re­ leas­ ing ­ built-up ten­ sions, and ­ that’s a kind of ca­ thar­ tic­ self-treatment.” “If you walk home in the rain ­ you’ll need treat­ ment for pneu­ mo­ nia,” said ­ George. “Hop in the truck and I’ll give you a lift.” “OK, ­ George, but first let me show you the trick I ­ taught Ollie,” Hans said. He took a thin brown dog treat from his shirt ­ pocket. “Ollie, sit!” he com­ manded. “Ollie, trust!” Hans laid the strip on­ Ollie’s muz­ zle. “Trust . . . trust . . . trust . . .” Hans re­ peated. Ollie tried des­ per­ ately to focus his eyes on the treat. “OK!” said Hans, and Ollie ­ flipped the strip into the air and­ caught it. ­ George and Helen ap­ plauded. “What kind of a treat is that?” asked ­ George. “Some­ thing new?” “Yeah, it’s ­ called Dog­ nip,” Hans said. “They were giv­ ing sam­ ples away at the pet store in Green Bay, and Ollie will do any­ thing for them. ­ They’re like ca­ nine co­ caine.” [18.223.172.252] Project MUSE (2024-04-26 17:30...

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