Zoopy The Jack Russell Pet Detective. Robert Villalobos

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СКАЧАТЬ the time Zoopy had her second birthday, she was the happiest Jack Russell terrier on the face of the earth. Everything at the ranch was “dog heaven” for her. She figured out quickly that life gave the most benefits to those who worked at being the smartest and to those who cared the most about others. She was a kind and thoughtful dog. Zoopy also knew that she was by far the Head Canine in Charge. She was the HCIC. In fact, it was clear to all the animals at the ranch, including her parents; all seven of the chickens; the two goats, Betsy and Popo, whose entire job was to hang around the stables to keep the three horses, Remo, Lightning, and Bosco, company; the hundreds of cows who didn’t know much about anything but still did everything she wanted them to; and last but not least, it was also clear to Sammy the cat, who for some reason lived on the roof of the barn and would never come down. Not during the day anyway.

      From the time that Henry the rooster crowed at 5:00 a.m. and got the day started to the time late at night when all the animals were asleep in the stables and everyone in the ranch house as well, Zoopy was the ruler by day, the guard by night, and the investigator of everything in between. If there was anything that was not as it should be, it was her job to fix it instantly and without question, and that kept her busy learning every single day.

      Zoopy normally started the day by waking up and giving the house a quick look-see to make sure everything was normal. One morning she found a rather large scorpion walking around the kitchen. She knew well enough that was a bad thing to have in the kitchen while both her owners, Tom and Beth, walked around sleepy-eyed and barefoot, preparing their morning coffee. Zoopy quickly jumped onto the kitchen countertop, removing a paper towel from its holder, jumped down, and covered the scorpion with it. She grabbed the paper towel between her teeth and carried it outside through the doggy door, taking the scorpion to the furthest pond on the ranch and letting it loose. Zoopy was so smart that she knew she had to throw the paper towel in the garbage afterward.

      Every morning after a quick look-see around the house, Zoopy would run into the master bedroom and wake up Tom and Beth by licking their feet, getting her first morning pats on the head. She always felt happy and content after her first few chores of the day.

      Next, as the ultimate ruler of the kingdom, Zoopy would head outside to the stables to check on the animals, making sure they were all awake and performing their daily routines. Zoopy loved everything about mornings.

      After lunchtime Zoopy would again make the rounds, confirming that all the animals were happy and normal, eating and enjoying the day. When it was sunny and warm outside, she would let Remo, Lightning, and Bosco out of their stables to enjoy the afternoon by the fishpond. This was one of her favorite times of the day; she finally rested, lying down in the deep grass to take a short nap while the horses calmly grazed for the rest of the afternoon. As the evening approached, it was time for Zoopy to make her way back to the ranch house and wait for the arrival of her two owners.

      As soon as Tom and Beth got home from a long day at work, Zoopy was the first to welcome them, then Lilu and Jeck. The three Jack Russells continually jumped for joy and barked ever so loud, as all Jack Russells do, but Tom and Beth were happy and grateful to see all their babies welcoming them home.

      When Tom walked into the living room, Zoopy had already laid his slippers next to his favorite recliner and had placed the daily newspaper on top of it. Zoopy would then retrieve an ice-cold beer from the refrigerator, taking it straight to Tom, wagging her happy short tail as he patted her head. He would sit in his chair, take a big sip, smile, and say, “Life is good,” just like always. When Beth came into the living room, her slippers were waiting by her rocking chair, which was her favorite place to sit. A flower, a different kind every day, was always placed on top of her rocker. This was yet another of Zoopy’s daily rituals. Tom and Beth loved Zoopy’s routine, and they showed her too.

      Before dinner was served and after Tom and Beth made their way into the dining room, Zoopy would go back to the living room, fetch their shoes, and return them next to the hamper in the master bedroom. From there she would retrieve Tom’s socks from inside his shoes, lift the hamper door with her nose, and drop them into it.

      As the night grew late, when her owners were off to bed, Zoopy would sneak out the doggy door in the kitchen and make the rounds at the stables, checking that all the animals were asleep and accounted for. She would peek around the dark corners, making sure there were no sneaky coyotes waiting to bother the henhouse or scare the horses. She would even check on Sammy the cat to make sure he was comfortable and safe. This was the part of the day that made Zoopy feel really good about everything, because she liked the responsibility of being everybody’s protector. Zoopy was proud of herself for being so good at her job; she also loved being dependable. Next she would check around the outside of the ranch house, looking for uninvited nosy critters that had no business hanging out there.

      Once inside, Zoopy double-checked that all the windows and doors were locked and everything was calm as it should be. Finally and as always, Zoopy was the last one in the ranch house to fall asleep, after watching whatever TV show she had chosen for the night. And as usual, at 5:00 a.m., when Henry the rooster did his thing, she was always the first one to wake up, excited to start the day all over again.

      CHAPTER 3

      It was the end of the summer, and fall was setting in on the ranch. In Texas that meant it was mid-November, and in two weeks the weather would turn freezing cold.

      Zoopy was standing on a small hill overlooking a herd of cows. She had grown into the most beautiful Jack Russell terrier that any of the humans had ever seen. Her cotton-white fur glistened in the sunshine as though she were a giant hundredwatt light bulb plugged into an electric socket; her brown pinto marks seemed as though they were alive as the gold-colored glitter sparkled within her patches. As she gazed upon the grasslands with her bright blue eyes, it seemed as though Zoopy was meant to be Zeus’s royal pet in Greek mythology. She was hypnotic, aristocratic, and amazing to look at.

      Zoopy was happy; she was remembering her sister Kuki and her two brothers Guido and Fetzer, the names Tom’s brother had given them when he adopted and took them from the ranch a year or so ago. She smiled as she recalled the playful times they had on the ranch together—chasing the chickens and bothering the herds and swimming in the fishponds. She recalled all the fun shared when they were just puppies. She missed them very much.

      Zoopy came back from her daydream as the herd started to make their way back toward the water bin, and she was happy to accompany them as always, before the end of the day set in.

      Olaf the basset hound was an old dog that lived half a mile down the road from Zoopy. They were neighbors, and they were good friends.

      Olaf’s face was grey, his eyes were droopy, and his ears were big and floppy. Because he looked so goofy and was so old, most of the animals thought Olaf was a dumb and slow-minded dog, but because Zoopy was so smart, she knew it was wrong to judge anyone by their looks. In fact, she was smart enough to know that an older dog must have had many more experiences in his life than she had in hers, making Olaf not only a dog with a fountain of new and exciting information, but also made Olaf a wise dog. For that reason, Zoopy respected and valued Olaf’s friendship that much more.

      Olaf’s owner was Big Jack McKlowsky, a name even Zoopy had a hard time saying. Zoopy had noticed that when Big Jack went to the local grocery, a man called Leroy Johnson, who was his friend, would always call him “Cracker,” so from that point on, it was easier for Zoopy and all the animals to refer to Olaf’s owner as “Big Cracker Jack.” Cracker Jack was kind and loving to Olaf. They shared many good times together on the front porch, as they both enjoyed watching the daily sunsets and sharing all kinds of yummy treats together. They often ate cupcakes, all sorts of nonchocolate candy bars, and many kinds of sweets. Over the years and after many pounds of treats, it seemed Olaf had developed a huge СКАЧАТЬ