Doug Blough

I was happy to see in last week's “Tribune Tails” that Leigh and Dane Dvarshkis have branched out and expanded their great Bed and Biscuit operation to Powell. I was president of Cody's Park County Animal Shelter for two terms in the early 2000s, and Leigh took over as president after me.

Dane was just a kid then and I'm glad to hear he took a shine to mom's business. I wonder if he remembers the White Elephant Christmas gift I gave him at our shelter Christmas party one year? There used to be a drug-addicted but artistic house painter I'd often see at the old Downtowner Bar and he used to make the wildest little sculptures he'd often bring in to sell for gambling machine funds. He sold me this wooden outhouse, and when you'd open the door, a long-necked goose would pop up from the toilet hole. Dane, if you're reading this, I hope you've cherished that outhouse.

At one of our meetings when Leigh was president, we were talking about drawing in new members when an elderly, sourpuss board member barked, “The way things have been going, people don't even want to join!” I said as serious as I could muster, “Well, they will if we offer free oven mitts.” Leigh, if you're reading this, I know you remember that epic exchange and who the lovable but testy woman was.

Looking back on my life, the thing I'm most proud of is the years I served on the board and the many animals I've helped rescue. These later years have unfortunately visited severe depression into my life, so I haven't been active in animal welfare/rescue, but I couldn't possibly love my dog Naomi or my kitty Kiki more. I met Naomi at Leigh's Cody facility four years ago when her name was Nimeria and she had been surrendered to Kathy McDonald's wonderful 3 Dog Rescue from a Powell family.

I renamed Nimeria after my dear mother Naomi and if her old owners are reading, I understand why you chose to give her up. She had killed a couple of their mallards which I”m sure they were attached to. She's turned into the perfect elderly lady for me and during her daily mile poop walk, she doesn't even react to cats or deer walking by and I'm sure she'd ignore any stray mallard. She stops to roll over every day in the same two yards we pass and she poops at the same spot – give or take 10 yards – every single time.

My cat Kiki is sweet and lovable almost beyond description and I'm so thankful she was handed over many years ago by my niece Amber, who was moving into a place that didn't allow cats. She's the reason I began sleeping upstairs on my bed instead of the couch several years ago. She waits patiently till she sees me heading up the stairs and then she stampedes up behind me, almost always beating me to the top by a couple steps.

Then she's onto my bed where she immediately rolls onto her back so I can rub her tummy while I do my nightly Wordle. That goes on until my arm is worn out and then she goes wherever she goes, but within 15 minutes she always returns to lay against my skin for a while. She's got to be pretty old by now, but every evening I can hear from the kitchen Kiki knocking the little ball around the circular toy track. Forever a kitten.

After my years with the shelter, I launched my dog-walking business with the motto on my card, “I'll take them where they've never been and clean up where they just were." Among my regulars was a Great Dane named Luke whose owner from back East worked at Cody Labs through the week and returned each weekend. Giant Luke was scared of me at first, but soon I was walking him through the Breadboard drive thru everyday where he'd put his big ol' paws up on the exchange counter to receive the treat they'd always smilingly
give.

I also had two pit bull regulars whose names I can't recall that I'd drive in my old truck to a canal near my place. These two definitely gave their breed a good name. I would throw milkweeds and sticks in the water for them to wrestle over and one day I was taking a leak and they both started circling me vigorously. I worried they thought they had spotted a small stick and thought, “How am I gonna explain THIS one down at the ER?”

Animals ... they're more fun than a long-necked goose peeking out of a wooden outhouse.