Egg Hunting Dogs

Mom's busy at work this week planning the City of Georgetown's Annual Easter Egg Hunt for children this coming Saturday.

Easter makes me think, how do bunny rabbits get all those eggs they distribute?

Do they pay the chickens for them? Do they steal them? Or do they have a huge bunny production facility that creates them? If created, will the factory have to purchase carbon credit offsets next year? And what will that do for the number of eggs produced?

They’re legitimate questions, but I suppose many of you are probably thinking, “Flash, why can’t you just focus on the fun side for a change. Can’t you just enjoy Easter for the celebration it is?”

I guess I could if it wasn’t for the fact I’m not allowed to eat meat on Fridays, plus this charcoal patch on my forehead still hasn’t completely washed away. What kind of holiday season is that? In fact, substituting so much salmon for meat has given me a strong urge to swim up river and jump into a bear’s mouth.

But the following story illustrates some upside to Easter for dogs in the Illinois (pronounced Ill – e – noise) area.

TROY, Ill. – Donna Elief planted her feet firmly in the grass, held the megaphone up to her mouth and yelled: “Three, two, one. Hunt some eggs!”

And with that, a hundred or so dogs – tiny ones, shaggy ones, old and young ones, from Chihuahuas to Shiba Inus to Great Danes – went scampering into a field, noses down and tails wagging, searching for Easter eggs.

When the dogs’ noses touched the eggs – actually pastel-colored plastic ones containing dog treats – their owners picked them up, placing them in baskets or bags. The goal was to locate the “surprise egg,” which entitles the finder to a gift basket with chew toys and a flea treatment.

The Canine Easter Egg Hunt, held by the Hawthorne Animal Hospital and now in its fourth year, is a benefit event for the TreeHouse Wildlife Center near Alton, which takes care of wounded and orphaned wildlife. The event has cultivated some regulars, now veterans of the hunt, generating hundreds of dollars for the center.

“We come back every year,” said Priscilla Briggs of Granite City, as Nellie the collie and Freddie the sheltie panted nearby. “They just like to go out and have fun.”

Moments before the hunt began, the dogs and their owners lined up at the edge of the field – organized into four separate hunting zones for different sized dogs, “so the little ones aren’t getting stomped by the big ones,” Weishaupt explained.

The dogs charged in, finding all the eggs within minutes.

Not bad if you’re looking for a little exercise, but for me, I’ll just head to the local diner and get my eggs the way I like them…over easy.

FLASH