LODESTAR GAZETTE | SQUIRRELS | NONFICTION

Stormy And The Squirrels

Always read the labels carefully

Non-medium members can read this freely here!

It was such an innocent purchase. I was shopping for a toy for my 16-year-old dog Stormy. He was no longer interested in his old toys. He was not interested in much these days. His vision and his teeth were not strong. His sharp teeth could bite through many a stuffed toy when he was young. Now Stormy eats, sleeps, comes for hugs and tickles, and goes outdoors for his business.

I chanced upon an interesting toy online. It offered three sizes, and I chose the smallest. It was a futuristic toy, (whatever that meant). It was a house made to resemble a tree stump. It had several openings. Three small squirrels lived in the stump. They were adorable, soft stuffies, with long fluffy tails. The idea was to put the squirrels in the house and have the dog find them. I ordered it.

I realized that Stormy’s attention span required me to sweeten the reward. When the package arrived, I planned to add his favorite treats to the bottom of the stump and then add the squirrels.

It took time to introduce Stormy to his new friends whom I named Racer, Speedy, and James. I loved the name James. Stormy’s experience with real squirrels was limited. He had seen them climb trees, and eat nuts from the ground.

I loaded up the stump with treats and told Stormy, “Go find your treats. " He did his best and was mostly successful. He quickly learned that if he held the stump in his teeth and shook it, the treats and squirrels fell out. Success!

Stormy sleeps downstairs in my living room, and I sleep upstairs, to accommodate my allergist. If it sounds mundane to you, it was not. Before I closed the lights downstairs, I set the little house full of squirrels near Stormy’s bed.

When I went down the next morning, Stormy was still sleeping. I saw Racer across the room, looking at the television set. How did Racer get across the room? Stormy must have been up during the night looking for more treats. No, the treats were still in the stump. I thought about this. What is happening here?

I am not a foolish person, but I needed to give this some thought. As crazy as this sounds I lined up the three squirrels and told them this nonsense needed to stop. They all looked guilty and regretful to me. We will see.

The next night I tucked in Stormy and put the three squirrels into their bed. Certainly, my plants were not moving these little varments. It is now morning, Stormy is waiting for me at the steps.

This is never a good sign. I took him out, came back, and fed him, and I was on my way to the computer when I decided to check the stump. James was missing. “James where are you”, I asked. “Stormy, go find James”. I am now asking questions of a dog and two squirrels. I turned around and there was James.

A thought popped into my tired brain. I went back to research my original purchase order. The ad read, (See our escaping squirrel plush dog toy and puzzle. Futuristic. Mentally stimulating to prevent boredom. This is an interactive toy).

The positive outlet for boredom. WARNING: the squirrels will hide. When left in a dark room. Fun for the whole family. Their chip makes them so real, challenging to find them over and over again.) Great, lose your mind, is what they should have said. I am not amused, or nuts. Another adventure compliments of Artificial Intelligence. Judy

This story is mostly true. I find these squirrels all over the room. There is no AI. They just like to explore. Judy

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