Just an old chunk of coal.....

I'm just an old chunk of coal
But I'm gonna be a diamond someday....
-- sung by John Anderson

Many years ago, our house ran on a coal furnace. Not in my own memory, because I remember the oil furnace and then when we switched to natural gas. It had to be when my grandparents were alive and living here.

The seller would bring the coal, dump it in your backyard, but it was up to you to go get what you needed or to move it closer. And I imagine that over time, the smaller pieces sifted to the bottom and got (literally) buried in the ground under the weight of the larger hunks.

Guess what my buddy boy discovered? Yep. Coal. He'd eaten some pieces before as I have discovered.

This morning at 6:20, Little Buddy came into my room and said, "Hork, hork, hork" with head bent, and coughing/not-quite-heaving happening. I promptly replied with a sharp, "OUT!!!" He was NOT gonna hork on my carpet, no matter how crappy the condition of said carpet (you'd be bad too after 30 years).

I was praying very hard that he wouldn't urp all over his doggie bed. It's a faux suede microfiber thing that I doubt very seriously can just be thrown into a washer. Maybe one of those huge commercial ones at the laundromat, but not my home Kenmore. Praise be, he didn't hit it -- but he did hit the ripped up old comforter that was on the floor next to it.

The comforter had belonged to my brother. He obtained it from a former sort of girlfreak. Maddox purloined it one day last summer and claimed it as his own. He further tore it to shreds, but then wouldn't let it go. So in order to keep him from tearing the dog bed apart when we bought it, we put the shreds of the bedding with it. He never touched either in a destructive way again.

As I was very gingerly picking up the comforter and its new contents, I noticed it looked like there were huge chunks of black plastic. No wonder he was sick! I let him out for his morning routine, and found a trash bag in which to dispose of the ... stuff (comforter and all).

I told my brother about it when he returned from his morning walk. He said, "Good! We're finally rid of that junk" (meaning the comforter), then "Black plastic?" I replied that it could have been black rubber too, but his tire toy (the only thing with black rubber) was perfectly intact.

I told my parents and my dad said, "I bet it's coal from the backyard. Bet he dug up some...." Yep. Maddox has the look of a Lab but the digging abilities of the Husky. If he can dig it, paw it, or otherwise use his hands, er.... paws to his gain, he will.

I came home from work tonight. Seems he found another small piece of it, and my dad managed to get it out of his mouth.

Oy vey. Guess I'll be spending part of the weekend digging up and removing the coal bits that remain to a safe distance (over the fence).

What won't that dog do next?