By M.O. Spry
For The Salisbury Post
This is about a dog that loves to play tricks on his master. A lady in Spencer gave me this dog because she had to move. When I saw this dog, I liked it and it seemed to like me, so I brought it home. Mamaw liked the dog also because it was part lab and part collie.
Mamaw named it Coco.
Well, Coco had a home and he loved it. I had an electric fence around the house to keep him inside the yard. He did not like it very much, but it worked.
I thought everything was great until he began to play tricks on me. First, he pulled up a persimmon tree I had set out for Mamaw. I would always scold him when he did wrong. He would always look sad and lie down.
Coco did good for about a week. I could see he did not like for us to go away from the house. He would get into something when we went away.
One day, we came home and found the hose pipe cut in five pieces. He would also do his dirty work at night (cost $10 to replace).
One morning my heavy duty (half-inch thick) drop cord was cut in 8 pieces (cost $25 to replace). I would scold him and he would put his tail under and go lie down, just like he was saying he would not do it again. He chewed up one of my good caps that I wear every day.
So I said, “I am going to try something.”
I put the cord and hose pipe around him, put my cap on his head and let him wear it awhile.
I thought that he had stopped being a bad boy so I set out a flower in the flower bed. Next morning it was sitting beside the hole. So I set it out again. Again, the next morning the flower was sitting beside the hole.
Well, I was beginning to get upset so I filled it full of black pepper.
It is still in the same hole.
Then it was time to put out the Christmas lights on trees and shrubs. I was afraid I would have trouble with Coco. He did good for two days. Then he put his head on one of the blanket lights and could not get it off.
When I called him to see what he was into, he came walking around the house with the blanket of lights all over his body, so I hooked him up and we had a Christmas light dog.
When we go away and come home, if he comes running to us, I know he has been a good dog. When he peeps around the house or behind a post, I know he has been into something, so I start looking. I always find something torn up. He chewed a hole in my new golf cart seat.
I can’t think of everything he has done, but he has been a busy dog.
I put him in the lot when he is bad so when he does something wrong I start to scold him he will run and get in the lot and look at me so sad.
The reason I keep him is that no one else would have him. I cannot take him t o the pound ó he would run them crazy. So I will keep him and see what happens next.
He also dug up two grapevines I was proud of, and two fig bushes (cost $75 to replace).
Do I love my dog, or do I keep him around to see what he will do next?
I keep him to play with. Mamaw won’t play.
He will eat out of my hand. Mamaw won’t.
He will get on my lap. Mamaw won’t.
So I will keep him around to play with and fix his damage.

M.O. Spry lives in Salisbury.