About canine conversations

G. GEORGE OSTROM / For the Hungry Horse News

We dog owners like to talk about "our" dog, and it gets worse after "our" kids leave home. That subject works best with other dog owners because they are more likely to listen to your latest story knowing you will have to listen to theirs. If there aren't any dog owners handy, some people are not above talking about their dog to non-dog owners. Sometimes this chatter is interesting but often it isn't. Occasionally there are stories from dog owners that are worth repeating.

Am Not going to use actual names but have known the family involved here most of my life. Jenny and I were talking over the phone last week. Heard a tiny bark in the background so asked about it. Knew I'd get a dog story but then … she'd have to listen to one of mine. Jenny told me about her current small pet, which she "just adores," then recalled she had no experience with little dogs in early childhood because her father was a hunter and kept big ones like labs and setters. When she was about 8 years old, a neighbor lady got two toy Pekingese and Jenny was over there constantly to play with them.

Her mother, Mamie, became concerned about her child being gone so much and decided to get her own Pekingese. Bought a male and female from a pet shop in Spokane and the arrangement worked fine until the female started having puppies. With a second litter on the way, there was a big family discussion about what could be done. During the conversation someone asked Mamie why she hadn't had the male "fixed."

At this point, Jenny's kindly mother showed her biologic naivety. In a sincerely disappointed voice she said, "Well! Those puppies are from the same family and I certainly had no idea that boy dog would mate with his sister."

Switching to wild canines, many locals remember Diane Boyd who headed wolf studies after Glacier National Park packs were reintroduced by animals wandering down from Canada. It was difficult work under arduous conditions, but Diane did it well, going on to get advanced degrees in wildlife biology as well as international recognition. My Moose City partners and I provided cabins and air field use for several animal studies by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and University of Montana during the later 1900s. Have a recent letter from Diane:

"Dear George and Iris,

"A big 'hello' from a voice from the past. I just came back from a lovely weekend at my Trail Creek cabin, and was once again reminded of you and my years at Moose City and the North Fork. Those were some of the finest years of my life. So I thought I'd drop you a note and thank you for helping 'the Wolf Lady' and our research crew for many wonderful years … If you see other Moose-City-ites, please tell them hello for me. All the best, Diane Boyd."

She didn't say what she's doing now, but is in Conrad. We! Thank YOU Diane.

Some readers have asked why I complain about Glacier Park officially calling that legendary route over Logan Pass "Going-to-the-Sun Road" instead of "Going-to-the-Sun Highway"? I'm not absolutely sure why it bugs me, but it does. It was called "Highway" by people who got money from Congress, was labeled "Highway" on maps. Montana's governor called it "Highway" at the official dedication in 1933, and for more than 20 years everybody called it "Highway." It helps me to recall, when the new "terminology order" came from Washington in 1956, our noted friend, Mel Ruder, was also bugged. His comments at the time can be found in the wonderful book "Pictures, a Park and Pulitzer." Maybe we should start a petition?

Let's end this column with a pun I just stole from someplace: "Atheism is a non-prophet organization."

G. George Ostrom is a Kalispell resident and a national award-winning Hungry Horse News columnist.