Just as every neighborhood has the "crazy dog lady" (of which I am proud to be one) there is also the neighborhood curmudgeon. Our curmudgeon is named Fred and he lives two doors away with his schoolteacher wife and two grown sons.
Over the years Fred has been the first one suspected when someone's pet is harmed in some way. No one has ever accused Fred to his face, he's much too intimidating for that, but the whispers fly when something happens to a furry friend. When Sprite, a friendly cat that lives up the street, was poisoned last year, many a suspicious glance was cast in Fred's direction. Hadn't everyone seen him carrying in the container of anti-freeze just before Sprite's demise? And what about when Coco, another neighbor's cat, was shot? Fred brags about having guns and "knowing how to use them" doesn't he? Mostly, there was the case of the dog next door whose barking drove Fred crazy. It seemed strange that he just "disappeared" one night and never came back. And so life goes on on our little neighborhood street, but there is always that niggling little doubt in the minds of many -- those of us who walk our little furbutts on the opposite side of the street from Fred's house or drag them quickly by in hopes they won't have the unmitigated gall to poop near his domain.
Since I got Kalina I have tried hard to keep away from Fred's house. I've never seen him fuss over someone's pet, that's for sure, and I believe in keeping a low profile where he's concerned. But it was hot and I was anxious to get home from our walk the other day, so I decided to just walk on past Fred's house with Kalina in tow. And suddenly, there he was, FRED!! I wasn't the one who saw him walking down his driveway, but Kalina did. Now Kalina is a friendly puppy, but not overly so. Her usual demeanor is to go up to a stranger and let him pat her head for a second or two and then she's on her way. There are so many other things to see and do and she doesn't like to waste too much time on any one person or thing. But yesterday, with Fred, it was different. Kalina went, to put it plainly, nuts. HAPPY nuts! She scampered to the end of her lease, feet flying, straining in her harness, to get to Fred. She was whining with joy, as if this great, plodding man with the scowl was coming toward her for only one reason - to love her as she loved him. "Please, please touch me" her body language seemed to say, "I won't be able to stand it if you don't".
Amazingly enough Fred stopped in his tracks and looked down at Kalina, a previously un-witnessed event in our town. "Well now." he said, "Well now." And he bent down and scratched her head, much to her blessed relief, and tickled her beard, all the while repeating "Well now, you certainly are a cute one aren't you."
So there you have it folks. I don't know what to think about Fred, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I tend to trust the instincts of a dog and Kalina still finds Fred to be, well, enchanting!
