One of our regulars had a dog that he was so proud of he continuously told stories of his pets unusual talents. According to my older friend his dog had the unique ability to follow a cold trail ages after an animal had passed by. The cleverness of his dog, and the number of times he repeated stories about this remarkable animal, somehow found their way to an avid hunter in Massachusetts. This gent just had to see for himself the wonders of this fantastic beast so when his next vacation came due he jumped into his car and headed north to South Lubec.

   He arrive at the Maineaic�s house at nine o�clock in the morning and asked if the owner would show him just how good his dog was.

   �Aayah, I�d be more than pleased to show you what Shep can do,� the proud dog owner said happy to show off his dog. �What would you like him to do?�

   "Would you have him find an old raccoon trail for me? You know, one several months old."

   �Glad to oblige,� the proud owner said as he called his dog. When Shep came running up he wagged his tail, licked his owner�s hand, and sat waiting for a command.

    �Go find me a dead raccoon, old boy,� the master commanded. The dog looked at his owner, gave him a broad dog grin, turned and winked at the visitor, and started off across the field to the woods beyond. Half way across the field the dog jumped five feet straight in the air, landed on his feet, and never even broke his stride. When the man from Massachusetts and the Maineiac caught up with Shep he was standing next to an old coon den. The visitor got down on his knees and looked inside; then he reached inside and pulled out a set of raccoon bones that had to be years old.

   �That�s the most amazing thing I have ever seen,� the visitor from Massachusetts had to admit. "That trail had to be years old and I can�t imagine how your dog found these bones. I do, however, have a troublesome thought on my mind. Why did the dog jump in the air like that when he was half way through the field?�

�Oh!� the Maineiac exclaimed as he scratched his head with his index finger to show he was thinking deep thoughts and trying to remember something. Then as he smiled broadly he said,�That raccoon must have crawled over the stone fence we tore down six years ago last May."