JJ: MJ and Roger

MJ was the next addition to the pack. Bec came in to the store carrying a pretty little yellow puppy in her hand and gave me a sob story about how a friend had rescued it but wasn't allowed to keep it and that I was its last chance because it was headed to the animal shelter for euthanasia. She was persuasive and he was cute, so Moose got a companion. We named him MJ, for Moose Junior, and called him Emmy for short. He had Moose's coloring but a purple tongue and curled tail showed up his Mutt heritage. He was an unwanted companion, I might add, Moose was quite happy to be an only child. MJ was a cute little pup, but when he annoyed Moose once too often Moose nipped him. MJ yipped and then ran to us with his head tilted sideways and crying for all he was worth. Moose gave us a partly apprehensive and partly satisfied look, obviously figuring he was in trouble but that it was worth it. Since little Emmy had been asking for it and Moose's patience had lasted longer than we thought it would there were no repercussions. Besides, it was kind of funny. When MJ got older he tried usurping some of Moose's prerogatives like the office recliner. Like the picture shows, he wasn't too successful. I'd been somewhat car-less for a while when I wandered into Apache Pawn and spotted a maroon 1983 Dodge D50 in his lot. To make a long story short, I bought it and put the old topper from my Datsun on it. Moose & Emmy both liked riding in it and we kept the connecting windows open so they could put their heads up front. Kathy took the D50, christened Roger Dodger, in for some work at a shop. They insisted that a mechanic drive it into the service bay so Kathy got out and the grease monkey climbed in. Roger rolled forward a couple of feet, the brakes went on, and the mechanic piled out, moving fast. It seems that Moose objected to the new driver, and when he put his head through the window and growled in the man's ear, he decided it would be okay for Kathy to do the driving. When she stopped laughing, she did. A friend was riding with me one day with Emmy riding shotgun in back. Emmy stuck his head up into the cab just in time to see something he didn't approve of, like another dog, and barked once, loudly. His bark was loud and high pitched, and when he cut loose my friend smacked his head into the passenger side window. Yeah, I thought it was a lot funnier than either of them did. And Kathy thought it was even funnier when I told her . . . On another excursion, we'd been out hunting and on the way out of the woods were stopped by a game warden. He chatted for a minute, then asked if we had any game. When I remarked that we had a Moose in the topper he put his face up to the window to look in. When Moose hit the glass and spoke to him, he landed back about three steps. Yeah, I thought it was funnier than any of the other participants did. Moose and I both got yelled at. TBC (Me)