by Greg Koelker
Eight years ago today the current most famous dog in Vernon County was born. On a sweltering July day, Ellen and I drove to Sparta to meet him and take him home. He rode home in Ellen’s lap. She got irritated by the hot, squirming chocolate fur baby as I remember. It was hot and the Subaru’s AC was barely making a dent. I/we named him Bo for our friend the late Bob Bonine. Bo the puppy was to be the replacement for our beloved chocolate Labrador Scout who had ruled the roost here for 14 seasons. Bob loved seeing Scout when he visited.
Scout – named for the protagonist in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mocking Bird – was a great pal, a superb retriever, she understood English, she perfected the dog alarm job, like 14 year old Maggie, her famous predecessor, she was smart. Our friend Gregg Sikorra asked to take Scout waterfowling in a canoe once. While she loved riding in a boat, she had never been in a canoe. He reported all went well. Scout retrieved a few birds, but on the way back in, a goose came in low. “It was my fault. I just had to take the shot,” Gregg told us. When the shot rang out and the goose splashed right next to the canoe, Scout did what Labrador retrievers do and leapt into the water to retrieve; however, Gregg wasn’t prepared for the entire craft to dump over into the drink. Anyway, it wasn’t too deep and Gregg was able to right the ship and recover his sunken shotgun and gear. They did get the goose. Anyway, Scout was my companion and therapist during the four months of Ellen’s health journey to recovery in 2017-2018. When Ellen was rehabbing there, Scout was a hit with the crowd at Bethany Riverside. I remember feeling particularly down one evening when Ellen’s recovery was still in the balance and unburdening my worry to the aging arthritic Scout, “You better not leave me too.” Ellen came home in January. Scout died that spring.
Maggie – named for my favorite mother-in-law Marge Hauk – came from a farm outside Viroqua in 1990 for the cost of $35. They even had papers for her. I put “Lady Marguerite St. of Autumn” on the registration. She was the most intelligent dog we ever had. At that time, we had a barnyard for Clements’s heifers right by what we called the ball field in our yard. Ben and/or Mark came up with the bright idea to put bird scent on their baseballs so if one went into the barnyard muck Maggie might retrieve it. It worked pretty well too. (Okay, retrieving baseballs in cow manure, maybe isn’t the most intelligent thing but what dog doesn’t love rolling in manure, right?) She didn’t need bird scent to find baseballs though. Coach Russ Peterson, a lab lover too, might recall the summer morning he and I were getting the Stoddard Elementary diamond ready for a game. We had practice there the evening before and the outfield grass was a little long. Maggie naturally worked the outfield searching for balls. She brought in a lost baseball from the outfield and gave it to me. I tossed it in the back of my Jeep Comanche pickup. Shortly, she brought me another and I tossed it in the truck. Here is the proof of real intelligence: she went on to find three more baseballs and jumped into the truck and deposited those balls herself. I am not making this up. I remember being at a ball game in Stoddard Park and Maggie was lounging right behind me in the shade of a tree where I told her to stay. A couple innings in, some lady with the away team I guess saw Maggie and and went a little crazy screaming about an unattended dog. I called to Maggie, telling her to get in the truck. Without a word, Maggie trotted off into the parking lot and leaped over the tailgate of our Ford Ranger truck. When I got to the truck later, Coach Kelly Olson’s children were playing with her in the truck box. I know I was at fault here, but Maggie really was a kid in a gorilla suit.
Anyway, Bo got a tortilla with a little sandwich meat in it for his birthday breakfast. I suppose I could have put 8 candles on a cake for him, but …
Until next time, get out – today is also International Nurses Day. To my sisters Diane and Carolyn, our nieces Kari and Angie, and our friends Jake, Megan, and Kathi and all of our other nurse friends, we hope you have a special day.
Happy Mother’s Day to all who qualify. Despite what the weather guessers are saying, I am putting in a request with Mother Nature for a May 10th like it is supposed to be like – pretty please.
Pray for peace.
Greg Koelker is a lifelong resident of the Driftless region along the Mississippi River. He is the acclaimed author of the “Grouse Hollow Journal,” a column that celebrates rural life, nature, family heritage, and the traditions that bind communities together. While technically focused on the “outdoors,” his writing often explores broader themes of community values and education.
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