Whoever said that cats and dogs should learn to coexist? As far as we felines are concerned, sometimes there isn’t enough room on the entire planet for both of us.

Consider the unfortunate encounter suffered Monday afternoon by my friend Teddy, a sweet rag-doll cat owned by Bee classified director Sarah Evans. Teddy was rudely surprised in what he thought was his dog-free dwelling, when Sarah’s new roommate’s dog entered the premises. Teddy was sunning himself under an open window when the interloper spied him and gave chase. Having nothing to climb or hide under (because he was snoozing in the empty room that awaited the new roommate’s furniture), Teddy was forced to launch himself at warp speed in the direction of the window screen, which he proceeded to penetrate, leaving a cat-size round hole big enough for a million mosquitoes to fly through. Since this was the second floor of an old Victorian house, Teddy fell two stories, landed on all fours (naturally), and tore across the yard toward the nearest tree.

Sarah happened to be walking home as this was all taking place. She saw a cat that she thought looked strangely like Teddy streak across her yard and up a tree, but she knew her Teddy was an inside cat, so this couldn’t be happening. Wrong. To make this long story short, Scott Baggett fetched a tall painter’s ladder, Sarah climbed into the tree, and poor Teddy was grabbed from behind and returned to the safety of his home. The new roommate and her dog retreated to their car to discuss the matter.

I have to concede that there are some dogs who deserve a little sympathy. Buster, for example.

Buster, as you can tell by this picture, had a recent run-in with a dentist, who performed a little gum surgery on him and removed two canine teeth. (Aren’t all the teeth in a dog’s mouth canine teeth?) Buster, as you may recall, was named Newtown’s King Dog in The Bee’s infamous King and Queen Dog contest back in 1994. Buster is also a member of the same family as Aimee, the late toy poodle that won the Queen title in the first Bee dog contest in 1981. Buster is the owner of Louis Holland, Jr.

In driving about town this week, I was surprised by the large number of work projects underway along local roads, be they tree trimming jobs, overhead utility line installations, or sewer connection projects. New home construction is underway as well, with new residences being built at Cider Mill Farm near Lower Paugussett State Forest in Sandy Hook, at Liberty at Newtown off Mt Pleasant Road in Hawleyville, at Newtown Hunt off Hawleyville Road, and at several residential subdivisions scattered across town. Fortunately, there is still plenty of peace to be had in both the Lower and Upper Paugussett State Forests.

Incidentally, I learned this week that the State of Connecticut plans to honor former Newtown resident Polly Brody early next month by naming a forest road through Upper Paugussett in her honor. Polly was instrumental in securing the forest’s status as a protected state forest back in the 1960s.

Greg Hays, son of Norma Hays, left for an archeological dig in Wales this week. A graduate student at UConn, Greg will be working at a medieval Priory site in Chirbury, Shropshire. The dig participants will be looking for evidence of a fortification built by Alfred the Great’s daughter, Aethelflaed, against the Vikings.

Meanwhile, Millie and Bill McIlrath of Appleblossom Lane are looking for evidence of the leprechaun and elf that used to grace their front lawn. The pair of sprites disappeared a couple of weeks ago, and since then not a single rainbow has deposited a pot of gold on the McIlrath lawn, which they have come to count on in their retirement. Anyone knows the whereabouts of the leprechaun and his elf friend, give Millie and Bill a call.

Well, the boss tells me the deadline is fast approaching and time is running out for our little Brigadoon here, so I’ve got to disappear for another week. Look for me in the gloaming next week, and be sure to…

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