Malcolm, the apprentice plumber

[Malcolm's Dad]

Malcolm helped to snake out the kitchen drain tonight. It had been running slow then clogged up. I started to take the things out of the cabinet under the sink. Its amazing how much stuff collects under there. Malcolm was having a good time smelling every bottle that came out. The soaps and detergents all have scents so he was having a blast sniffing all the different odors.

I got the wrench and was taking off the trap. Malcolm was very interested in this. He walked into the cabinet and was inspecting all the pipes. I kept shooing him out and he kept walking under the sink. I got the trap off and got the snake. Malcolm thought it was new toy for him. He went into that super-excited mode, tail wagging like crazy, barking and talking to me. We played tug of war with the snake for a bit then I had to get to work.

I started feeding the snake into the pipe and Malcolm just went crazy. He was pawing at the pipe and using those high pitch barks. He wanted to get into that pipe! He must have thought the end of the snake was a mouse that ran into the pipe.

I watched him and imagined it was hundreds of years ago, the pipe was a pile of rocks and the snake was a rodent running into the rocks. Malcolm was so determined. He was going to do his job of catching critters. You could see how well they did their work in the old days.

I had to put him the yard if I was going to get anything done. I told him there were rodents in the yard and threw some treats outside, then closed the door. He was barking and scratching at the door the whole time I was working on the drain. I got done, he came running in and went right to the cabinet. He is still sitting in front of the sink staring at the cabinet doors. That might be his favorite spot now.

[Abby and McDuffy]

That sounds very familiar...Duffy is a big critter hunter too! But he hunts real snakes. He never kills them, just barks at them until I rescue them from him. I'm glad we only have garter snakes around here!

[hheldorfer]

You will now be forever protected from the mystery critter in the pipes.

[kjwarnold]

It's amazing how long they can remember that they saw "something" in a certain spot and keep going back to it or just sit there and stare at it. Oh, and do you think Malcolm can do toilet repair? Mine's leaking...

[pkcrossley]

It is always riveteing and a bit eerie whe we get these little revisits of what these dogs were built to do four hundred years ago. It always impresses me with how hard it is for terriers to find a way to fit our lives into their instincts. They keep trying! They are dedicated and creative in accommodating us, really.

[Nena]

Great story about Malcolm. What fun these dogs are and they really are great at catching their prey. I have to watch Nena this time of year or she will go after the baby bunnies and that never goes well.

Malcolm sounds like a great assistant it is hard to find a good helper.