When you grew up in the country as I did, dogs were as much a part of life as the chickens that pecked around your yard, the milk cow chewing a cud in the pasture and the pig in the pen waiting for the weather to get cool enough to be converted into hams, bacon and sausage.

I mention this because we just became foster parents to a tiny puppy. More about that
later. Some of the dogs I remember living in and around the Harris household back then were Tippy, Rusty, Boots and Bitsy. Maybe there were others but time has erased their memories.

After leaving home, graduating from college and starting a family of my own, dogs have
been a part of my life. The first one I recall was, Jody, a little half Cocker Spaniel. Instead of being a pure blooded Cocker, the mom apparently met up with a mongrel down the street. Before his pedigree was learned, we even had his tail docked like his mom and even though he turned out not to be a full fledged Cocker, we loved that little guy and were devastated when out chasing a girl friend down the road, he crossed the road ahead of a car and the Buick won.

Then there was Bambi, a little fawn colored Chihuahua. She was a tiny little bundle we
loved until her old age meant we had to have her put to sleep. I’ve had to do that with others that followed but Bambi was the first and it hurt the most.

Trixie was next and she came to us in a most unusual manner. Kay, my wife, was
working down town when someone came by the office where she worked holding a bedraggled little white pup she found wandering the street, a dog she couldn’t keep. Kay brought it home, we took her to the vet to get her cleaned up and learned she was a full bloodied poodle about two years old.

She came to us with no name and we tried calling her by several names to see if she
would respond. When we said “Trixie”, she perked up so we assumed her former owner we never knew had named her that or something similar. We put a notice in the paper about finding her but never got a response so Trixie enjoyed a full life with us until we had to do for her what we did for Bambi.

Then there was Rufus. We had started scanning the ad section of the paper for puppies
available for adoption and located one, a Papillion, that caught our attention. It was love at first sight and we brought little Rufus home with us where he enjoyed a charmed life for over 16 years. It was one of the saddest days of our lives when we had to have to little fellow that had grown deaf, nearly blind and developed serious health issues put to sleep over a year and a half ago. Kay and I decided that maybe our lives with dogs as companions was over; it hurt too much to have to part with those little fellows we had loved so much.

A lot can change in a year and a half. We finally came to the conclusion that after
memories of Bambi, Trixie and Rufus had faded, our home was missing something we had enjoyed for years. We decided we needed to get another pup to fill the void and began praying for divine direction to be sure we were making the right decision.

It was almost by accident that we discovered a source that would soon be having puppies available for adoption. The sire was a long-haired Chihuahua and the dam a registered Yorkie so we put our name on the list for one of the puppies.

Easter Sunday afternoon, we brought our little eight weeks old Chorkie home, all two
pounds of her and gave her a name, Coco, that seemed just right for her.

It feels good and right to be back in the puppy business again.

FISHING REPORT

BLACK BAYOU – Fishing has improved. Bream are starting to bite around the beds. Crappie are fair to good around the trees on shiners or jigs. No report on bass. Contact Honey Hole Tackle Shop 323-8707 for latest information.
OUACHITA RIVER – The river is on the rise again and except for the river lakes, fishing has been slow. Bream, bass and crappie are being caught in the river lakes. For latest information, contact the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE D’ARBONNE – Bass fishing has been fair with some still hanging around shallow
spawning areas and hitting creature baits, soft plastics and crank baits. The crappie are fair with some still spawning in shallow water while others have completed the spawn and moved out. Good news is that the bream are starting to bed and lots of big blue gills and chinquapins are being reported. Catfish are still biting cold worms fished off the banks. For latest reports, call Anderson’s Sport Center at 368-9669 or Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE CLAIBORNE – Crappie fishing has been fair to good on shiners and jigs with some
caught around shallow spawning areas while others have moved back off to deeper water. Yo- yos baited with shiners taking lots of fish at night. Some are also being caught at night fishing shiners around the lights. Bream fishing is improving with fish moving into the shallows around the lake. Look for the bass to be moving with the back of the coves to spawn. For latest information, call Misty at Kel’s Cove at 331-2730 or Terzia Tackle at 278-4498.
CANEY LAKE – The crappie are around shallow brush during the spawn while some have
already spawned and are moving out. Shiners and jigs are taking some fish. Bass are moving to the beds with crank baits, plastic frogs and topwaters taking some fish. The bluegills and chinquapins are beginning to show up around shallow spawning areas with worms and crickets beginning to take some nice fish. No report on catfish. For information contact Hooks Marina at 249-2347, Terzia Tackle at 278-4498 or the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE POVERTY POINT – Catfishing has been good on cold worms. Crappie fishing has
slowed down as the spawn is about over. Bass are fair and the bream are moving to the beds. For latest reports, call Poverty Point Marina at 318/878-0101.

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