06/07/07 Festus

Maybe he wasn't the best cow dog in the purest sense, but he sure was entertaining when he wasn't a working cattle. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back right after this to tell you about Festus. Festus was a Blue Heeler we luckily inherited when he needed a little more room and less people. Festus pretty well fit the mold of most Blue Heelers I've been around  not quite as cerebral as say a Border Collie, but smart enough to train me and a head hard enough to crack a bowling ball. One other characteristic Blue Heelers seems to have is personality and Festus had his share and two more helpings. His first owners, Dave and Linda, had taught Festus very good table manners including not begging at the table, only eating a treat when he was told ok but to be attentive enough to never miss a tid-bit thrown his way. With those kind of manners he was always welcome at Mom's table and fared pretty well. One visitor mentioned he didn't deserve treats thrown his way since he never tasted them long enough to even know what they were or enjoy them. Well, Festus was meat and potato kind of dog with a leaning toward fresh maple bars for dessert, so I proved he could taste and enjoy when I tossed him a chunk of pickle. His jaws never even started to come together when he spit that pickle right back out  since it was a test I didn't reprimand him for bad manners. Festus could also play a fair game of catch and was a good passer in a basketball game, but he wasn't chosen for too many pick-up games since he was height challenged. I'm Jeff Keane.