Tara the Brave and the Gooood Doggie-Woggie - by Tara

I was in about fourth grade when we lived in the house on Decatur , Mesa Arizona . I had been sent out to feed the dog, Benji. But it was probably more like I was insistent that I was going to feed the dog. We kept the dog food in the storage room. I had to go out the kitchen, through the laundry room and out the back door. The storage room was only about a five by eight foot room, made of cinder block and painted Navajo white. The room was filled with all sorts of forgotten wonders. Except to dad of course, it was full of his treasures and he knew what the thing-a-ma-jig did in the corner and where to find the hammer – the most important of all tools. The door was like any other door, wooden and tan instead of Navajo white, because of innumerable hand prints and scuff marks all over it. I opened the brass door knob and stepped up the one step into the white cinderblock room. The room was dim because the sun was not all the way up yet. It was dusky dawn, but light enough to see. I picked up the measuring cup we used to scoop out Benji’s food. The bag of food was placed just inside the door, leaning up against a metal filing cabinet of some sort. As I leaned over the 20 pound bag, I put my right arm inside. The food was about 3/4th s gone. So being only about 9 or 10, I had to lean way over. Then! A scratching noise came violently from inside the bag, scurrying, hurrying. I screamed and lurched backwards throwing the measuring cup to wherever it landed. The scratching continued up the side of the bag and a sliding sound, followed by a tiny thud. I was pressing up against the door frame of the white cinderblock storage room, heaving heavy breaths with panic in my eyes. Whatever it was in that bag could not get out! AAAAAHHH! I ran inside the house wailing “There is something in Benji’s food!!!” To my surprise, Mom sent ME back out! I was instructed to “just dump over the bag and let it out“ Mother had said calmly to me. WHAT! MMEEE! There was nothing calm about this situation! I was hasty as I went back out to the beast, but this time panicked and Mad. I went back over to the bag of dog food. This time, it was slightly askew in the door jam. I slid around the bag, back arched and bum out. I was at least an arm’s length away, careful to keep as much of my body out in the yard as possible. In no way did I want to get stuck in that little room with a Monster that was lurking inside a seemingly innocent bag of dog feed. Whatever It was inside, It must have been at least 10 pounds… at any rate that is what my mind kept imagining. I took 3 very fast, gear up kind of breaths and reached my right pointer finger over to the bag. I caught the very edge of the bag, but it was enough! I pulled! And the bag of dog food slammed on its side, spilling little nuggets of tender beefy by-products, made especially for our canine friend. As the avalanche of doggie chow spilled onto the cement out side of the door and onto the grass, a fiend bolted from the bag! A mouse! It was about an inch and a half long, but to me it was ten inches and was a forty five thousand, big fat monster! It began to run across the stickery half dead grass when; Benji realized a new toy had just been given to him! He seized the mouse and tossed it up into the air. HA! a new game. He did this about 2 more times before I got sick and ran inside. EEEowww! I am sure the end of the mouse was good for some fun for the canine of my youth – Dumb dog! But Good dog! Take care of that nasty rodent. I am traumatized by this memory to this day! However, this I believe is when the family realized that Benji was good for something. He was a mouser. Gooood Doggie-woggie.