At The Library—

Border Collie Puppies Take Over Staff Meeting

By Dottie Evans

What person in his or her right mind would pass up the chance to cuddle a new puppy, or smell puppy breath?

Not anyone working at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library.

Given the option of spending Friday morning July 23 in a darkened room watching a demonstration of the library’s new Dynix computer system, or turning on the lights and playing with 4-week-old border collie puppies –– the choice was clear.

The puppies won, paws down.

“OK, we’ll go back to the demonstration in ten minutes,” said Library Director Janet Woycik as her staff bolted from the meeting table to greet Trent Harrison who had just come in the door.

He was carrying a wicker basket containing seven black and white puppies nestled in a blue towel. It wasn’t long before the basket was on the floor tipped on its side, and the puppies were tumbling out. They crawled everywhere on wobbly legs to explore and sniff at people’s feet.

“Their names are Thumper, South Paw, Woody, Flash, Squirt, Puppy #5, and Puppy #7,” said Mr Harrison.

He explained that he and his wife Cindy had not expected their border collie bitch, Tess, to produce more than four or five puppies because of an x-ray of the mother taken before the puppies’ birth.

“When there turned out to be seven, we didn’t have enough names picked out.”

Young Adult Librarian Margaret Brown cuddling Puppy #7 suggested she be called “Flower” and Mr Harrison agreed that sounded like a fine name.

Trent Harrison, the son of Reference Librarian Beryl Harrison and Jack Harrison of Platts Hill Road, is a teacher during the school year. On June 28, however, he was transformed into a breeder of border collie puppies when his two collies, Tess and Montie (flown in from Montana), produced their first litter in his Riverside Road kitchen.

The first five puppies were born where they should have been –– in the whelping box. Then thinking that Tess was through, Mr Harrison took her outside to relieve herself and the sixth puppy was born on the deck. Then after they came back inside a seventh was born on the kitchen floor.

Other than those particulars, the timing for their birth was perfect he remarked, since he plans to have all seven puppies sold and gone to their new owners by the end of the summer. Then Trent and Cindy Harrison can settle down to taking care of their first child, a son, Tyler, who is already 3 months old.

“My house was a hotbed of fecundity this spring,” he joked as he prepared to return home with the puppies that were now quite hungry and yelping loudly for their mother.

Meanwhile, back inside the library, the lights in the public meeting room were dimmed and the staff settled back in their chairs to learn how they would sign on to the Internet using their new computer system.

A faint memory of puppy breath lingered in the air.