Last Thursday evening, I totally panicked! In our neighborhood, trash pick-up is always on Thursdays. By the end of the day, most residents on our street have pulled their trash cans back into their yards. Last Thursday evening, though, this was not the case with our neighbors next door.
We were just starting out on our evening walk with Remi. If you recall from one of my previous blog posts, Remi does not take kindly to certain dogs, especially those his size or larger. Because of this, we are always on the lookout for any dogs approaching us.
We had just barely walked off our property when I glanced at our neighbors’ trash cans still on the street. It was already getting dark. I first saw two animal legs, standing behind one of the cans. I think my heart jumped a beat or two. I immediately alerted Tom and we stopped.
We both cautiously walked a little closer. I was sure that it was either a small coyote or a diseased animal ready to attack Remi. The legs weren’t moving, though. It didn’t help that Remi started to growl. Because Tom was to the left of me and had a different angle on the situation, his reaction once he moved closer was not the same as mine.
“It’s a camel – a stuffed camel.”
“Camel? How could it be a camel?”
“When’s the last time you saw a coyote with two humps?”
My heart was racing, but I stepped to the left in Tom’s direction. It WAS definitely some kind of camel!
Tom took a quick picture with his phone. I wish I had had my phone along to show you what it first looked like to me.
Remi approached it and started sniffing it. He looked around, then looked back at the camel, then looked at us again. He was confused!
The next day the camel had been pulled up onto the driveway. It’s remained there for a few days now.
I did two minutes of research and found that the camel we saw may be the one sold by the Fiesta Company for $169.99. It stands 30 inches high and is 3 feet long. Their ad says, “In the case of kids (or adults) that already know about and have an appreciation for two-hump camels, this jumbo stuffed Bactrian camel allows them to finally have their very own, big camel buddy.”
Well, the house next door is a residence for recovering addicts. The residents and staff keep to themselves. There are no children there who would enjoy a stuffed camel, and the rather stiff camel is not very soft and huggable anyway. Is it possible that the camel was used as a teaching or counseling tool for the residents?
At this point, I really don’t care. It’s none of my business after all. I’m just happy that we didn’t meet a coyote face-to-face!
Hi Karleen . . . .. enjoyable story. Funny what can occur right outside your house! . . . . just makes you wonder what the ‘whole’ story is. Too bad the little camel can’t talk!
I would love to ask the people next door what the backstory is, as you said, Jim. The camel is still out there and Remi now sees him as a harmless friend. He goes over to the camel and sniffs him every evening. Whenever I see someone outside the house next door, I’ll ask more about it. Have a good day!