Today I had a new experience. I pulled a dead dog out from under the house. I could have done without that particular experience.

I was doing a bit of weeding this morning when I thought there was a certain smell in the air. One time years ago a dog died under the trailer, so I was pretty sure what had happened.

I got the big flashlight, then tried to hunker down enough that I could see the length of the trailer. There are all sorts of things in the way of a clear view, such as sewage pipes, axles, and other stuff (although most of the "other stuff" floated out during Katrina.) And, I thought I saw a big yellow-brown lump. I moved to the side where the lump was, hunkered down again, and it was Fella. I was right about the "scent" and the increasing number of flies.

I went inside and called my favorite animal person. She gave me a number for an outfit called "Critter Ridders," but when I called I learned that the number had been disconnected. Eventually I had someone tentatively lined up and I waited and waited for him to arrive. Meanwhile, I thought about how to get the dog out from under, since he was lodged behind a sewage pipe.

A moment's thought suggested that he probably wasn't rigid, and if I could get him onto something (like an old bedspread) I could get him out. It worked. By this time my hip and thigh were definitely not happy and I didn't think I'd be able to do phase two (getting corpse into a garbage bag, then taking it out into the woods) by myself. I was thinking that I'd call the neighbor who's been here almost twenty years when I saw the pickup of the one building on the other side of me. He was more than willing to lend a hand on this job. So Fella is now back in the woods where he was born.

I haven't seen Freckles for several days now. I do hope she goes out in the woods to die.

I'm all for new experiences, but not that particular kind.

Other than that it was another IUD.