Lucky gets free lunch at Sharkey's

A recent story in The Record-Courier reminded me of when I used to walk along the Martin Slough each week during my lunch break from Gardnerville Elementary School. There were two ponds out there near the Chichester Estates and I always stopped to watch the wildlife around them. Ducks and geese were normally there but there was also an unusual resident living around the ponds.

He was a football-sized furry mammal with whiskers on his face and a long, bare tail. He was a member of the rodent family and is a good swimmer that eats roots and leaves of water plants. He got his name from his strong musk-like odor. You guessed it - a muskrat. Many people call the muskrat a cousin of the beaver because of the way it burrows and builds its home. It makes a tunnel that opens under the water. One day I saw him try his luck at being admitted to Sharkey's, one of our town's favorite watering holes.

I called him Lucky. He was first seen shuffling down the sidewalk along Gilman Avenue in downtown Gardnerville. He paused at the casino entrance and scratched on the glass door, then waited for someone to let him in. The welcome mat was out and the door was held open for him. He swaggered inside just like all the old-timers that frequent this legendary gaming establishment. But before he had time to belly-up to the bar, proprietor Butch Begovich picked him up and put him in a box. Lucky seemed very friendly so Butch offered him some lunch. The Begovich family is well-known for their generous hospitality. The 8-pound muskrat ate up the fresh lettuce and then Butch called for the professionals.

Rhonda from the Douglas County Animal Shelter advised him to put the water animal back into the water where he really belongs. So Butch took him down to the river and he made a sudden huge dive into the fast-moving water. (Lucky, not Butch.) Then he popped back up as if to give a fond farewell to his newfound friend.

If the next time you're in Sharkey's you happen to smell the strong odor of musk, take a look under the poker table. Lucky - and his lettuce - just might be hangin' out there. Only in Nevada.

-- Linda Monohan may be reached at 782-5802.