Baxter Black

Dear Baxter,

As a fellow veterinarian, I am hoping you can help me. My wife, Nancy, has two cow dogs that will readily obey commands to sit and stay – until they get near a cow.

This notice was found on the side of a first-calf heifer at the sale barn:

CALF KIT

Have you ever been embarrassed by your good dog? Me either. I’ve got a good dog. An Australian shepherd with one blue eye, and I believe he loves me. I believe I love him. He’ll go with me anywhere.

Sharon had hauled the old piano home in a stock trailer. It came out of the Miner’s Club in Mountain City where, according to the bartender, it had set since the early ’30s.

Mac told me a harrowing tale about losing a loaded six-horse trailer off the back of his pickup. He admitted he knew the ball was too small – but it wasn’t far to go; it was gettin’ dark; the kids were restless; it was a new moon; the tide was running out; his hat was too tight – whatever the excuse he needed to justify not changing the ball.

Most of us, rural or urban, can get attached to an animal. Our barn cat Jay Jay has a special place in my mind. Somebody dumped a litter of kittens on the church grounds. I took three of the little tomcats.