A Short Conversation ...

Last Thursday, I spotted what I believed was a cougar, slinking across our backyard. (See blog: Friday, December 23, 2005, "Go Cougars!") Subsequently, I phoned the Washington State Department of Fish and Game (DFG), in Spokane, to report the sighting and to determine if there was any risk, with a cougar running loose. After some discussion, the DFG Officer told me that he thought it was a full-grown adult bobcat and not a cougar. Today, I combed the backyard for animal tracks. I found a few and compared them to images of real cougar tracks, which I found on the Internet. They were a very close match, so this morning, I picked up the phone and dialed the cell phone number for the DFG Officer I had previously spoken to.

The conversation went something like this:

Phone ringing ...

DFG: "Hello ... ?" (Sounded like I had just awaken him.)

RD: "Hi, This is Roger, from Pullman ... Is this the person I spoke to a few days ago about the cougar sighting?'

DFG: (pause) "Ah ... yes it is."

RD: "Today I discovered some tracks in our backyard that look very much like cougar tracks that I found on the Internet. Do you have an email address? I would like to send them to you to look at."

DFG: "Yes, I have an email address ... send them and we'll look at them. I'll give you the address later."

DFG: "To be certain, you should put out some live bait."

(I'm thinking ... huh ... live bait? What ... A chicken ... a dog ...?)

RD: "OK, you mean put something out and watch it?"

DFG: "Yes"

DFG: "Do you have a hottub?

DFG: "Another little known fact about cougars is that they love hottubs."

RD: "Hottubs?"

DFG: "Yes, they love the smell. Leave the cover open."

RD: "They love hottubs? You're kidding ... ? My hottub is right next to my house."

DFG: "That's OK ... It's true ... they love hottubs."

(I'm thinking this is crazy ... Cougars love hottubs? I'm visualizing me sitting in the hottub tonight and a cougar sneaks up and jumps in with me! I'm dumbfounded! This hottub revelation is almost unbelievable, but it's coming from the Department of Fish and Game! I dialed his phone number! I'm trying to assimilate this ...)

DFG: "And what's more, put out some cheese and wine ..."

(Only at this point, I start to smell a rat and suddenly I think I recognize the voice ... but I dialed the Washington State Department of Fish and Game ... didn't I?)

RD: "B R Y A N !!!!!"

RD: "What phone number is this? I dialed a 509 phone number ... you don't have a 509 number! How did you answer this phone number?"

(Waves of laughter)

RD: "OK ... I see what happened! Your cell phone number is right next to the DFG number and I mistakenly dialed your number, instead if the DFG Officer."

RD: "You got me good! I sure bit on that one!"

(More laughter .... )