"Missy" was the lovable brown and white family pet beagle of Alex Street, his wife Joan, and their two children, William (Billy) and Holly, who lived on the Cape Spear highway not far from the village of Blackhead. I first met Alex through CB radio in the 1970s. Now if there was one thing that Missy loved better than a pat on her head, it was to go across the road and try and make friends with those cute bundles of fur (rabbits), which, much to Alex's chagrin, she was always after. She was a master at escaping from the collars around her neck to keep her at home, even getting out of a body harness because those fur balls were always calling her to come join them in their playground. One day Alex suggested that he and I should go in rabbit hunting some fine Saturday, but I never owned a gun let alone fired one. So one afternoon I stopped into the sporting goods department of F. W. Woolworth's on Water Street and purchased a 16-gauge shotgun, a box of shells, and a game license. Once home, I phoned Alex and told him and it was decided we would go in hunting on Saturday morning coming. Saturday arrived and the three of us walked up the road to a neighbor living on the south side of the road, asked for and obtained permission to go down behind his place. Alex and I found a little clearing and in moments Missy had rousted out a rabbit and the chase was on! She must have chased that fur ball to the outer fringes of Maddox Cove yelping the entire way. Then they turned and came back to the southern fringes of Blackhead then turned again towards us. Alex whispered to me "get ready, they're coming." So I placed a shell in the gun and raised the gun to my shoulder. The Alex spoke up, "Don't shoot the dog! Don't shoot Missy!" In a heartbeat I realized that it could be a real possibility, because this was the first time I had held a loaded gun to my should let alone pulled the trigger on one, so I lowered the gun, removed the shell and pocketed it when something shot in front of my feet and Missy hot behind it. "Boom!" from my right as Alex fired off a round towards the retreating animals. I watched as Missy dug in her paws and came to a full stop and walked up in front of Alex with a pitiful look in her eyes. I'm sure the words in her mind said it all "You missed! How could you?" Alex ignored her and said, "Let's go back. Joan will have lunch ready soon." Sadly, Alex found Missy one morning passed away in her sleep. No doubt she was dreaming of those little fur balls she always wanted to be playmates with. Submitted by Robert Hammond   Submitted By: NULL