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Inky & John The Saga Continues

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A Walk In The Woods

I am always on the lookout for ways to get Inky into more homes so that more people can enjoy his wonderful personality. Inky is a natural entertainer and thrives on meeting new folks so he can become part of their Sunday. I was mulling over this situation yesterday when my little pal, followed by the inseparable mob, came trotting into the den. He hopped up into my lap and gave me a big nose kiss.

"John, what is my status with N.A.S.A.? Shouldn't we be doing something?"

"I AM doing something, little guy, I have written a letter to the administrator of N.A.S.A. in Washington. Now we must wait for an answer. We will have to be patient and go on with our lives, because this is a big thing and it may take a few months. In the meantime we can start back on our exercise program. You know we kind of slipped after the trip to Houston."

Inky looked up at me and sneered. "Hey, speak for yourself. I HAVE been exercising and I'm fit and trim. It's YOU that is a couch potato! Or maybe, considering all the M.A.S.H. re-runs you watch, M.A.S.H. potato would be a better name!"

"OH YEAH? OH YEAH? Well, I haven't seen your little pug nose miss the food bowl lately! Tell you what! Let's go outside and we'll walk down to the woods and back." We all jumped up and headed for the back yard and out the gate. Of course, I put their harnesses and leashes on first, because, if I didn't, they would outrun me in a heartbeat. We headed down the trail for the woods, which are beautiful now, having just had rain. On the way, they stopped to smell all the smells and look at the wild flowers (I look at the flowers, they smell the smells). When we reached the path where the deer tracks always are, they became very excited.

Inky said, "John, these tracks are fresh! Probably just a few minutes ago."

"Yes, and they are just as likely to be standing over in the woods a few yards away watching us." On hearing that, Inky immediately perked his ears up. He and the others began serious sniffing. The closer they got to the woods, the more animated they became. Suddenly there was a rustle of branches on my right and I knew right away we were close. It scared the dogs (they're all very small so they startle pretty easily) and I had to hold on to the leashes with both hands. After that I decided we had enough excitement for one day, so we started home. On the way back to the house Inky asked about our efforts to get our column into some other newspapers.

"Well, little pal, so far we are batting a big zero. People have their own agenda and the folks I've talked to at the other papers all seem to be too busy to mess with us. We can't beg. What we are doing in the 'Inky and John' column is something we both are very proud of and we should be, because we make people smile. We don't want to make any bad deals."

Inky nodded his agreement and said "I know you'll do the right thing, John. Hey! Race back to the house?" Off we went. Sometimes I think it must be a funny sight, four small dogs pulling a grown man who weighs . . .

Well, that's all the space we have. See you next time!