Modoc County Record – July 6, 2006 Letters to the Editor Someone got Shorty the dog Dear Editor: We have had a culture clash of sorts what is both amusing and educational. "Shorty" is a mongrel dog that has been a fixture on the streets of Cedarville for many years. This aging female sleeps at one house and eats at various others. She is fat, healthy and has been getting along just fine with the help of the Cedarville community. Enter the Vallejo lady. It seems that a thunderstorm was in progress and Shorty panics during thunderstorms. Ms. Vallejo stopped along Main Street and Shorty jumped into her car probably to escape the thunder. At this point the visiting do-gooder made a series of wrong assumptions. "This dog has been abandoned", "This dog is being abused" and she observed that the dog did not have proper identification. On top of the wrong assumptions she now made a wrong decision and intervened to correct a "dire situation". She spirited poor ole Shorty off to the veterinary clinic in Alturas. Shorty and Ms. Vallejo made a dramatic entrance with many demands among which was that a computer chip be implanted in Shorty so that future identification would be swift and true. One of the clinic employees recognized Shorty which would seem to negate the need for a computer chip. It seems that the lady from Vallejo was about the only one involved who didn’t know who Shorty was. Further, the employee volunteered to return the dog to Cedarville on her way home from work. The lady, however, would have non of it. She left her name and phone number and headed out of town with the hapless Shorty, on her way to Vallejo. Dr. Lois Roberts was one of Shorty’s benefactors and she was notified that the community dog was headed for Vallejo in the custody of the distraught lady who obviously cleverly disguised dog napping operation. Dr. Roberts called the Sheriff’s Department who contacted the lady and told her to bring the now well-traveled Shorty back. Someone met her halfway between Vallejo and Alturas and Cedarville’s community canine was returned. Shorty, apparently none the worse for wear, seems content once again and has resumed her route, eating here and sleeping there. All is well but we must observe Shorty in case she exhibits signs of stress or anxiety in which case an animal behaviorist will have to be called in, hopefully at the expense of Ms. Vallejo. Shorty must wonder, if dogs wonder, what in the world that was all about. She would never understand that she had been caught between the world of the up tight, total control crowd of the California urbanite and the laid back, slower paced rural folks who jointly care for a community dog without government sanction, knowledge or interference. Obviously, Shorty isn’t the only one who cannot understand such a concept. ~B.B. Eagleville ~~~~~~ Billie C. & Anita 'Jean' Reynolds Family Researcher of "The Last Frontier" Modoc County, California --- Our outgoing mail is checked by ZoneAlarm AntiVirus.