Andrea Chancellor: What might you imagine two dogs could find in a backyard dig?
It’s about time Clyde and Vera found part-time work.
These two dogs have spent several years just loafing around, sunning, barking, chasing squirrels and doing pretty much what all dogs do 24/7.
Imagine my surprise when they hunkered down and began prospecting an existing hole they had created in the backyard.
Alert the media! These two precious canines have taken on work, and we are proud of their junk-digging discoveries.
Just beyond the entry into the fenced dog run, the two worked for days on a particularly difficult mound of dirt. Sniffing, digging, roughing up the landscape and shoveling dirt pods away seemed natural to these two. They were heading deeper and deeper toward China, I believe.
A couple of days later, we began inspecting the dig to see what it had produced.
Voila! There it was. A 3-inch-tall, 10cc clear glass bottle complete with measure markings on the side. No chips, nice ribbing on the shoulders.
Bottle digging at dump sites is a legitimate sport these days. You can watch videos about it on YouTube. I’m proud to say our dogs have inherited our love of dirt junking, turning up the first bottle anyone in the family has ever unearthed.
Our home backs up to a home built in 1898. It makes sense that treasures from that historic home or possibly household waste and trash were buried years ago off-site, which would put the dumping zone right in our dog run.
Actually, we’re considering sending the bottle off for appraisal because in all the videos we’ve watched, not one bottle ever was produced by a dog. Eventually, we may need to build a lighted glass case for proper display of the bottle.
Clyde and Vera are open to interviews and selfies, as well.
Historians no doubt will be on the dogs’ tails after this column to get inside our fence to have a look-see.
The dogs are up for that. And, we will certainly consider loaning the new-found collectible to any bona fide museum under the standard reciprocity contracts and clauses.
With this success, our dogs keep finding shards of glass and pieces of junk in the same dig site.
In all fairness, this is not the first time we’ve encountered a dog-digging backyard excursion. Several years ago my Graciedog exhibited digging tendencies.
Her modus operandi was to bury my clothes in the yard, leaving a partial sleeve of a blouse or a few inches of a pant leg extruding from the fresh dirt pile.
Graciedog’s treasure burials were not as valuable as the glass bottle, although once I spotted a partial sweater sleeve protruding from the ground. Thanks, Graciedog, but the garment didn’t clean up very well.
We can all learn something from our dogs. They are smart and resourceful and certainly know their antiques. Good doggies.
Andrea Chancellor has more than 20 years in newspaper and magazine journalism and 20 years in public relations.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Junk-digging dogs discover antique treasure in backyard excavation
