Neighborhood Gossip

So, the gossip in this neighborhood is a little different then what you might see on a typical episode of "Desperate Housewives". Here's an example:

Every day,  Shasta and I embark on a  walk down the dirt road, toward the trail that goes to the river. (Shasta truly loves this route, as evidenced by her almost 13-year-old body intermittently bursting into short sprints!) As we round the corner of the road each day, we encounter Jasmine, the other dog in the 'hood: a big German Shepherd. The first time we encountered Miss Jasmine, it was a little scary. Jasmine started to bark and growl, and so I quickly steered Shasta away from the whole scene. She is a little old to be dealing with traditional dog warfare. But soon enough, Jasmine, and her 9 year old owner, Jessie, were out playing. The four of us met up and introduced ourselves. Shasta and Jasmine sniffed butts, and all was OK. We no longer had to fear the corner and the big shepherd!

Just a few days ago, we were rounding that corner again;  Jasmine barked (this time it was friendly), and Jessie came running out into the road. 

"Can Shasta run fast?" Jessie asked. 

No, not really.

"Well, do you think she would try to attack an animal?"

Definitely not!

"Well, Jasmine was barking earlier today and I ran out and there they were, two baby moose, just walking down the middle of the road! Their mom was killed, and  somebody fed them so they aren't going anywhere for a while. They are here in this neighborhood to stay, at least for now. So when I heard Jasmine bark just now, I thought it was the moose again."

"How do you know they were fed? And that the mom was killed?" I asked.

"Fish and Game told me".

Fish and Game! The purveyors of neighborhood gossip, Alaskan-style! From the analysis of State Government, to the mouths of babes....

I will definitely be carrying the camera on all future walks. If I see those poor orphaned moose, I promise to take a picture and post it right here for you to see!