Then, in about 1983 when our son, Josey, was five years old, someone in the area had mentioned having a baby crow which had been taken from its nest. George pursued the matter and, soon afterwards, came home with this baby bird whom to this day we often think of and talk about . . . .

We named the crow "Dakota" which soon became "Dakcrowta," and he/she not only became our guardian but also had a wonderful relationship with our dog, Cochise....None of us had ever known just how intelligent this bird could be - as he grew he became totally dedicated to all of us.

He was soon flying into the cabin knowing he wasn't supposed to be there. He would then fly up on a beam and look down at us laughing, and then fly right outside again. Such a tease!

Whenever I put laundry out on the line, there was Dakota unpegging every last piece of clothing ,and jumping up and down laughing at the fun in this. He would also wait for us to play badminton, get right in the middle of the net on the lawn, and every time the birdie fell on the ground, he'd grab it. He'd jump up and down on the lawn with it in his mouth, then fly up onto the roof, run across to the other side of the cabin, and drop it so that we'd have to run around looking for it!

Whenever we went for walks up our country road he would walk with us. He'd never fly but pretend to be completely human, unless he was grabbing a ride on our dog's back. He would also ride the handle bars of our son's bicycle.

One of the most amazing things he would do was listen for the sound of our vehicle whenever we were coming home from town. He would fly the half mile or so out to meet us, and then fly in all the way hovering over the roof of the jeep. Whenever he was bad (and knew it) he took to flying onto my shoulder and sticking his head under my arm pit as if to ask for forgiveness. He was utterly wonderful!

Then came the times when we would have company . . . and unfortunately he got very possessive of us. He would corner people in the outhouse, wait until they were busy, and start pecking at their toes! This was really funny until he made some feet bleed. He also cornered some kids up against a tree, a couple of times, and scared them half to death. He was being very protective of our son. We finally started thinking he was turning into "the sentinal" after a young boy held up his fist to him . . . and the crow immediately flew at his head, just enough to scare him and ruffle his hair . . . .

We finally had to make a decision about letting him go, and took him back to a lake a few miles away. After letting him out of the jeep, we drove away, only to look back and see him flying after us. It was heart wrenching! Then, a strange vehicle came up the road, which seemed to scare him, and he flew back towards the lake.

A few days later I was so upset not having him around, that we went back to get him, but he was gone. Hopefully he had or is still having a wonderful life, and that out there somewhere flies Dakota.

Shiela Wilson, of Pugwash, related some unusual experiences with Joe the crow, whose intelligence and sense of adventure won him a good deal of trouble.

Joe came to live with us...on a summer day in 1957. He took up temporary residence in a cardboard box in the back porch. I say temporary residence because it wasn't long before he had the run of the house. He thrived. Soon he was big enough to learn to fly. We took him out on the lawn and we took turns sort of tossing him in the air. After many crash landings he finally got the hang of it, and we al felt like proud parents witnessing our baby's first step.

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