I was curious to see if she would notice.

She did. As I stood next to the bed, a little after midnight, the masked heeler was all over my chest with her nose. Inhaling deeply.

And her tail a waggin'.

It wasn't how I planned my day. Shortly after lunch, I headed out to the west. Looking for a bull elk bedded close to the interstate that supposedly wouldn't get up.

Well, we've had other reports on him. He's tired and worn out by the winter. He doesn't want to get up. But get too close, and he'll mosey away.

I figured a half hour there to wake him up and make sure he's okay, a half hour back. Tops.

And here it is, I'm finally getting home at 20 after midnight.

And I never made it to that elk. Instead, I found myself hauling yet another dead elk to the vet lab, a hundred miles the other direction. And assisting in the necropsy.

Yes, she had lichen in her rumen.

(All that green stuff.)

A long day, yes, but I have to admit...

It's fun working with people who have conversations like:

"You want both eyes?"

The answer, of course, was "Yes."

She asked for the 3rd eyelid, too.

"Both of 'em?"

"Sure, why not?"

And then, after a couple hours of bloody fun, came the long drive home. Watching the moon set in front of me.

But that isn't why the masked heeler was so interested in my scent. She and her sister have been smelling more than enough dead things on my clothes this winter.

No, since I was in the right town, after the necropsy I headed to Arby's for a late, late dinner. And as I sat in the parking lot, I made a phone call.

You want anything from Arby's?

"Whaaat?"

You want anything from Arby's?

"What are you saying?"

I'm down here at Arby's. You want anything?

Yeah. Youngest son. Apparently he doesn't expect a parent to show up in his town in the middle of the night offering to buy him dinner.

He took me up on my offer, of course. What college student wouldn't?

Dinner cost him two hugs, though. One for me, one for his mother.

And all his scent on my vest for his masked heeler to enjoy.