Dogs A-talkin'

I would like to give a shout-out to Duke Pennell and his site at frontiertales.com for the many fine stories he has published. I was just reading the December issue and highly enjoyed the story by Callie Smith entitled Rogue.

The story was told from the dog's viewpoint, which I thought was very clever and creative. I didn't know what was going on at first, but that changed the minute the neighbor's dog, Bull, came onto the property and launched an attack on the the dog guarding the sheep. They talked to each other like a couple of boys with backs stiffened and fighting to see who was best man. The fight was interrupted by an actual young man coming to see what was causing the ruckus and chasing Bull back to his own house. Bull was the McKeon's dog and it had already been the cause of  trouble with the McKeon's once before, especially with Niall McKeon, the older son and Tom, the lad who broke up the latest tangle. And the question for Tom's family (him, his mother and young sister) was "Is Bull a rogue dog that would return and cause more trouble?"

Yes, Bull was a rogue dog, but was it a bad dog? Well, maybe and maybe not. You'll just have to read the story and find out. In any event, the story got my vote for this month's best tale. I didn't dislike the other stories, but thought this one was more outstanding in my mind.

I recommend paying Frontier Tales a visit and see if you agree with me and enjoy the entertaining short stories that are published each month. And don't forget to vote for the story you like.