{"id":19368,"date":"2021-12-02T16:33:38","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T21:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=19368"},"modified":"2021-12-02T16:35:12","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T21:35:12","slug":"episode-473-pets-daisy-and-the-tsreadmill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=19368","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 473 PETS: DAISY AND THE TSREADMILL"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EPISODE 473   DAISY AND THE TREADMILL<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
De. 2, 2021<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Daisy was one of the greatest animals we ever had.  When she died people cried all over Canada.  One man even<\/div>\n
sent a note saying he had to pull over on The Trans Canada Highway because of his tears.  Not many dogs get<\/div>\n
national attention like she did.   You wonder how that happened. right?   Well the story is a bit on the long side but <\/div>\n
here goes.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
DAISY\u2026THE DOG WHO LOVED THE TREADMILL<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The idea of having a dog running a treadmill never occurred to me.   I bought the treadmill as an artefact.<\/div>\n
As I cleaned and repaired it, our Labrador dog Daisy kept hanging around.  Nosing around.  So I started<\/div>\n
a conversation with her.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cDaisy, did you know that dogs life you once ran this treadmill?\u201d<\/div>\n
(Swear she knew what i was saying.}<\/div>\n
\u201cA dog would be led up the back while the brake was on\u2026the  treadmill would be hooked to<\/div>\n
a fanning mill or some other farm implement.\u201d<\/div>\n
(Daisy looked deep into my eyes\u2026and listened.)<\/div>\n
\u201cDo you want to give it a try, Daisy?\u201d<\/div>\n
(I swear she nodded\u2026stood at the back  of the treadmill.)<\/div>\n
\u201cHop on, then.\u201d<\/div>\n
(And she did.  Honestly, that was all the training she had. Zero\u2026)<\/div>\n
\u201cHoly Samoley, Daisy, have you done this before?\u201d<\/div>\n
(She looked at me  almost saying in the silence\u2026\u201dHow could I , you got me as a little pup.\u201d)<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s see what happens when I take off the brake after hooking the handle of a fanning mill to the treadmill\u2026<\/div>\n
just give a minute or  two.  There,all hooked up.  Are you ready?<\/div>\n
(Daisy wagged her tail\u2026.I know you won\u2019t believe that but she did.)<\/div>\n
\u201cReady? <\/div>\n
(And I released the brake\u2026the treads began to turn as Daisy set her paws up and down.<\/div>\n
And everything worked \u2026the fanning mill was ready to clean grain using dog power\u2026the <\/div>\n
old machine rattled and the graim sifter shook.  And Daisy wagged her tail looking<\/div>\n
right into my eyes.   Who will believe me?)
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<\/div>\n
Daisy as a little pup.<\/div>\n

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Daisy on the dog treadmill\u2026all ready to go.<\/div>\n

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<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
See Daisy sitting on the ground at Sherwood Hume’s Family Farm Festival years ago.<\/div>\n
The treadmill is hooked to a small fanning mill.   All that Daisy needed was an<\/div>\n
audience\u2026perhaps some applause.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
THEN I MADE A BIG MISTAKE\u2026WISH I HAD BEHAVED BETTER<\/div>\n
(\u201cA fine example of a dog owner\u201d\u2026I say that sarcastically)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
We did many shows with Daisy but the best and the worst was at the Hume<\/div>\n
farm.  You have already read the best  Now for the worst. You will not think<\/div>\n
well of me after reading but you will still admire Daisy.  Here goes\u2026<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
We had a big crowd around Daisy as the treadmill revolved and the grain screens<\/div>\n
shook.  Admirers all.  Even, I suppose, the woman with the grim face admired<\/div>\n
Daisy.   But she sure did not like me.<\/div>\n
\u201cHow could you treat a dog like that? It\u2019s brutal.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNever thought of that.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow long will she have to do that?  Abuse!\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI let her work until she drops\u2026\u201d (Wish I had not said that\u2026but the words just blurted out.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou abuse her like that until she drops\u2026.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYep.  And when that happens I go to the dog catcher or Humane Society and get another dog.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWell\u2026.we\u2019ll see about that. I\u2019m going to get the police.\u201d<\/div>\n
And away she went.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Daisy was still turning the machine.  Her tail was still wagging.   Strange that the<\/div>\n
woman did not notice.   The crowd hooted\u2026.applauded  either the well intentioned woman<\/div>\n
or my smart assed comment.  It did not really matter.  This was showmanship at its<\/div>\n
best.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Did the police come?  No.  We had a group of volunteers, mostly women, who blocked<\/div>\n
the  front of the farm that day lest we had unwanted visitors.  Some men were drinking<\/div>\n
beer which posed a far more serious situation than Daisy\u2019s work on the treadmill.  We did<\/div>\n
not have a liquor licence which would have led to big time trouble.  We wished the beer<\/div>\n
drinkers knew that.  They were like me\u2026well intentioned but stupid.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
Daisy<\/div>\n

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THE DAY DAISY DIED<\/div>\n

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AT the time we had Daisy I was a small time journalist and broadcaster on CBC radio.<\/div>\n
Not big time.  My radio slot was around 5 to 10 minutes. Usually my stories were received<\/div>\n
locally in Southern Ontario.  But sometimes they went out to a wider Canadian audience.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWould a story about our dog Daisy be OK this week?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy Daisy?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cShe died this week.  Dog lovers know how that hurts.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOK\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
So  I wrote a radio script about Daisy.  It\u2019s still around our house somewhere<\/div>\n
as is a tape of the broadcast.   I tied Daisy to our daily life.  \u201cDaisy was more like<\/div>\n
a person than a dog.  Marjorie\u2019s farm relative would have said \u2019she were the  knowingest<\/div>\n
dog that ever there was.  (musical words She loved us.  She was there as the boys<\/div>\n
grew up.  And we loved her back\u2026took her wherever we went.  She knew as many swimming<\/div>\n
holes in Ontario as we did.  One year we parked Daisy and her big pup Sidney on an island<\/div>\n
in Lake of the Woods  while we took a canoe bound for another island a few miles distant where<\/div>\n
there were blueberries and maybe a bear or two.   We were way out in the open water when one<\/div>\n
the boys looked behind us.  Spotted two black dots in the Water.<\/div>\n

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\u201cMom, look back there\u2026I think Daisy and Sidney are following us\/\u201c<\/div>\n

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So we turned around and got both Daisy and  Sidney into the canoe.  With<\/div>\n
difficulty.   I say this so you  would understand just how close Daisy was<\/div>\n
to our family.  She did not want to stay behind.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Daisy died yesterday. We will miss her.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
My story was much longer.  While telling the story I noticed the studio was<\/div>\n
empty.  Usually my producer or radio host or technician were present.  Not that day.<\/div>\n
I was all alone.  Where were they?   Crying in the sound booth behind my back.<\/div>\n
I was crying as well.  My voice broke a couple of times.  Tears do not come easily<\/div>\n
for me but they sure did the day that Daisy died.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I often think of Daisy.  And the image of  that radio listener on the Trans Canada Highway<\/div>\n
comes to mind as he slipped to the gravel shoulder to wipe his tears.  Any person who cannot <\/div>\n
love a dog seems slightly less than human.  I mean a dog like Daisy.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
dec. 2,2021<\/div>\n

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EPISODE 473   DAISY AND THE TREADMILL alan skeoch De. 2, 2021 Daisy was one of the greatest animals we ever had.  When she died people cried all over Canada.  One man even sent a note saying he had to pull over on The Trans Canada Highway because of his tears.  Not many dogs get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19368\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}