Anita was one of the country’s top dog judges. It was therefore doubly upsetting when she was driving along, her shoe came off, it got tangled somehow in the car brake pedal, and she ran over a dog.
“Oh my God!” wailed Anita, “I’ve run over a dog and it’s dead. If I’m not mistaken that was Pradaxa Bridge Over a Stormy Seas out of Pradaxa Muffy-Fluff and Concho Harry the Menace the Third. It was one of the few remaining breeding Norwegian Lundehunds in the country. Only last year it came first in the dog show for grooming and obedience. And to think, I have killed it. I’m so sorry. I shall visit Margaret the owner and ask if I can in any way make a contribution to alleviate the sorrow. Oh dear! Oh Pradaxa Bridge Over a Stormy Seas, I am so very sorry.”
“From memory,” muttered Anita trying to come to terms with the tragedy, “the Norwegian Lundehund has six toes on each foot, prick ears that it can control at will, and the ability to tip its head backward to touch the backbone. It was bred initially for puffin hunting. Oh woe!”
Anita visited Margaret the owner and gave her two thousand dollars as compensation. Perhaps she could put it towards getting another Norwegian Lundehund. Of course, a dog is irreplaceable. Pradaxa Bridge Over a Stormy Seas had a personality all its own. Every dog does. One doesn’t replace a dog; one simply gets another.
The funeral for the young boy taking the dog for a walk is next Tuesday.