Where there is great love there are always miracles. Willa Cather

Scooter was planning on blogging about the great event celebrating the Nature Challenge 2009 and Smokey the Bear's birthday on Saturday but Scooter cannot blog at this time. I have stepped in to tell the tale of this amazing rooster. It was a typical morning at the nature center. Vicki was working on Bayou Buddies planning and I was figuring out some library invoices. Jadan had just come back from the library. Out of the corner of my eye I caught motion in the front yard and I looked up to see two large dogs chasing Scooter. Scooter was up in the air and so was one of the dogs! I screamed for Vicki and we charged out the front door screaming at the dogs! One dog ran out the front gate but the other was after Scooter and they headed to the back. When we reached them all we saw was a pile of feathers and the dog with Scooter by the neck in his mouth. Scooter was limp. We both screamed and cried! We chased the dogs as they ran down River Drive and disappeared. There were no words to describe how we felt. Jadan was crying, Vicki and I were screaming. All of the sudden I had this great impulse to get in the car. I don't know why. Scooter had been carried by the neck for a good 1/4 mile. His body was totally limp and not moving.I yelled at Jadan to get in the car and we headed out. We went down every street all the way to I-45. There was no sign of dogs or rooster. We kept looking and kept crying. I got back to the nature center but something inside told me to go back down River Drive. I turned around and headed back. As we passed a side street, Jadan screamed and I saw the dog throw Scooter by the wing across the road. And then a miracle happened. Scooter stood up!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hit the accelerator, Jadan leapt out of the car and started running, and I started honking the horn. The dog was heading back for Scooter who was staggering in the yard. We grabbed Scooter after I almost slammed into a mailbox and headed back to the nature center. He collapsed in my lap and was breathing heavy. After about 30 minutes he started to perk up. Vicki gave him water and we got out his mealworm treats. We checked him over. No blood! Lots of feathers gone! A sore neck but nothing else! It was truly a miracle! Scooter is safe and was "crowing" around the cabin the rest of the afternoon. I however have aged another 10 years. I warned Vicki two years ago that life at the nature center was a "surprise" every day. It is certainly true.