Chef vs Pets: Round Two
Duke on the Loose: This German Shepherd-Husky was supposed to be "put up" when I arrived to deliver this family's meals, but damn if he wasn't and damn if he didn't get the chance to bite my ass.
The Smith family contacted me in February of 2022. The family consisted of two parents that worked constantly and three teenaged boys. We did the intake interview over the phone as they said their schedule was crazy. They told me that if I delivered anytime after 3pm one of the boys would be home to let me in. There was a slight mention about their dog, Duke, a German Shepherd-Husky mix that would be “put up” before I got there. Like they said, one of the kids would be home so they would make sure that Duke was safely locked up in the house somewhere.
I pulled up to the gated house at 3:30pm. Through the gate I could see that the Smiths had a sprawling front yard. I rang the buzzer at the left side of the gate and someone inside the house buzzed open the gates. I drove up to the house noticing a lot of torn pieces of cardboard scattered all over the front yard. I saw remnants of FEDEX and UPS logos amid the paper scraps and various destroyed products. The trash was everywhere.
As I pulled up towards the home there were two cars parked directly in front of the mansion’s front porch. I pulled behind the second car and noticed a very small Latina looking woman walking out of the house with a vacuum in her hand. She put it in the back of her car as I began to get out of my car. I walked around to my trunk and popped it open. I began reaching into the hatch to begin pulling out the two large insulated cases that I kept clients meals in when I delivered. Just then, Duke came playfully galloping around the corner of the car. At first I was startled, but I had grown up with a one hundred pound German Shepherd named Copper, and by the way Duke was prancing I recognized this as “play”. I calmly said “Hi Duke!” Off he went around the corner of the car towards the front. As I was setting down the first case behind my car to grab the other one out from the hatch, Duke came right over to the case on the gravel drive and began tugging at one of the straps. “NO!” I said sternly. “NO DUKE! Bad Boy!” Duke scampered off again and I was able to then place the second case on top of the first one as I went to close the hatchback. Just then I felt a pinch on my right butt cheek. “OUCH!” I yelled as I turned around to see Duke backed up, startled as well. That’s when his demeanor changed. In an instant he went from playful to aggressive. He started to come at me, snatching the corner of my brand new parka in his teeth and pulling me back towards him. I decided to try to become Caesar Milan on his ass and with a very assertive voice I said, “Duke! Let Go! No!”, but this didnt have the effect I was hoping for. He let me go only to try to nip at my butt again but I turned sideways and he grabbed my coat again, this time rearing back and tugging so hard it was ripping my jacket. That’s when the panic began to set in. I knew not to make direct eye contact with him, but I wasn’t going to go towards him if I could help it. Just then the small cleaning woman walked out and I yelled “Please, HELP ME!” She came running over and Duke instantly let go of my coat. “NO DOO! BAD PERO!” she commanded as she stood in front of me. I clung to her back to separate myself from him. She told me to walk quickly behind her, all the while Duke was running playful laps around us. We made it to the front door when the cleaning lady yelled into house for the boy to come get “Doo”.
A sleepy looking 14 year old came to the door and wiping his eye with his right hand said, “Duke…get in here.” The dog wasn’t having it, now lumbering back to my food cases. He grabbed the canvas handle and started tugging, nearly toppling over the case on top. “No!” I yelled. The boy then walked out and chased after Duke for a few minutes. Thinking back on this scene is now comical because Duke was galloping through the shredded UPS boxes, grabbing random pieces of cardboard and flipping them through the air, seemingly having the best time ever. Just then, as if it couldn’t get anymore chaotic, the mailman pulled up and tossed another package over the gate. Duke immediately ran towards the now closed gate, barking wildly and snatching the package in his teeth. The mailman laughed and got back in his truck and drove off. The boy, meantime, was yelling at Duke to “DROP IT!” but that dog was totally out of control, now ripping that package open.
The cleaning lady and I stayed on the porch and she told the boy to grab him. After much chasing he was able to get Duke by the collar and forcibly lead him into the house. “I’ll put him in the garage”, the boy said. “Ok, you should be safe now,” she said. “Thank you so much! That was scary for a minute there,” I said to her. I went back to the car and carried the two cases inside the house into the kitchen. I cautiously looked around as I put their meals into the fridge, which was, by the way, PACKED FULL of foods already. Ugh, I said to myself. But managed to make it all fit somehow.
When I got home that evening I sent them an email about what had happened with Duke and that my brand new coat was ripped because of him. Thankfully they reimbursed me the cost of the jacket along with their payment for my service.
I think I cooked for them only a few times after this. Their lives, it seemed, were so chaotic and hectic that they had a hard time replying to my emails with the menu suggestions or confirming what times I could deliver without Duke being outside. They also had me put the meals in a pool house fridge that was behind the garage and down a set of stone steps which was really dangerous carrying all those containers. Plus, it was always scary when I pulled up as I always stayed in the car for a few minutes waiting to see if Duke was on the loose.
Until next week, Thanks so much for following along on this journey! If you enjoy Secrets and Spice please make sure you subscribe to get each weeks story emailed directly to you. Also, if you would like access to any of my recipes please consider a paid subscription. It’s one of the perks of becoming a paid supporter. (it’s only $5 a month or $50 for the year)
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Thank you again,
- Shirlé
**All names, places and occupations have been changed to protect the identity of all clients.
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A Shout Out to this Weeks Paid Supporters:
A very special shout out to the following paid subscribers:
Robinlee Garber, Chef Lynn Warlick Wells, Jake Brokaw, Miyuki Furtado and Spanky Wilson, . A special shout out to new paid subscribers Myra Ruppe Schwartz, Lisa Deemer Sethi and Claudia L Sanders, Laurel Estabrooks and Leela Montella,! Thank you all soooo much for your support!
-Leela is a person I have known since kindergarten. She has made a lovely life for her and her family and I love watching her kids success stories.
-Myra is an old NC friend who I recently got to see here in beautiful Lisbon with her partner Scott. Maybe someday they will become expats in this fair land.
-Robinlee is a childhood friend and all around renaissance woman, living and playing music in Chicago.
-Chef Lynn is a fellow Personal Chef buddy and owner of Thyme Well Spent, Personal Chef Service, based out of Greensboro NC. When not cooking for clients or food styling for cookbooks, she can be found hobnobbing with tastemakers and culinary shakers all over the country.
-Jake and his wife Brigitte have long been huge supporters of my cooking and are also huge supporters of the arts in Baltimore, Maryland. Jake also has an Orthopedic practice I have had to use a few times.
-Miyuki has been a lifelong friend and bandmate of mine from days long past. He’s also one of the best fathers and husbands I know and has raised one of the coolest kids, his daughter Mino along with his sweet wife Tricia. Miyuki currently plays music in his Alt-Country band, Divining Rod. You can listen to Divining Rod out on all music platforms. (Chef Lynn, I think you would LOVE his music!)
-Spanky has been a huge supporter of my cooking from my NC days. When not fire fighting you might find Spanky hiking the Appalachian trail.
-Lisa has been in my life since the early 90’s. She’s a huge music supporter and a lover of all things delicious.
-Claudia is an old friend from my days in North Carolina. I met Claudia at a pig pull back in 1998, when I first moved to Chapel Hill. Since then, Claudia has started a successful Personal Chef business, Good Intentions Personal Chef Service in the Hillsborough area, as well as serving the Durham and Chapel Hill area.
-Laurel Estabrooks is a new expat friend, recently becoming a Portuguese resident. Parabens!! Someday I hope to meet up face to face. Muito Obrigada Laurel!!
Thank you all sooo much for supporting me in this endeavor. I am truly grateful for you.
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