The Shamus Chronicles: A Need For Hospitality

by Betty Poole

Shamus has a house guest. Penny arrived on Friday, and she will be staying with us for two weeks while mistress Veronica is away in Toronto visiting her grandchildren.

Penny has settled in pretty well, but every now and then wonders where Veronica is and looks expectantly out of all the livingroom windows and has to be petted and reassured that life will eventually return to the old familiar pattern. Shamus, in the meantime, is showing heretofore hidden facets of his character. Although he has been a close friend and playmate of Penny's for most of his life, always welcoming her on her frequent visits for tea and happily accompanying her on walks to the beach, he has adopted quite a different attitude when Penny didn't go home last Friday.

He has suddenly turned quite surly. He pouts a lot in the corner. When Penny is being comforted he shoots across the room and pushes himself between the petter and the pettee. If a game of tug-of-war develops with Penny's nylon stocking known as "Rabbit", Shamus barks angrily and demands that the game be stopped.

He refuses to sleep in his usual place on his rug in the livingroom and insists on spending the night beside my bed.

In short, he is a most inhospitable host.

Gayle and I are going to make a ten-day trip to the U.K. at the end of the month, and Shamus will be staying at Penny's house while we are away. I hope that his good manners will have returned and that he will be a gracious guest.