Jill was in the master bedroom and was just about to let the dog out into the back yard from there when I first saw it. She turned on the lights and from 30 ft away I saw it scurry away toward the pool away from the intense focus of the floodlight that was blinding its medial eye.
“Freeze! Don’t go outside!” I shouted. I was at the kitchen sink washing dishes. From the tone of my voice Jill immediately understood what was happening, but it was too late. The Dog had already shot out the door and headed out to the grassy area to do her business. Fortunately the dog had passed the scorpion by a wide margin and without incident. I went outside and stood over the scorpion to ensure that the dog would not step on it on the return trip. From what I understand dogs do not fair as well as cats do when stung by Centruroides sculpturatus. A visit to the vet is needed to control the swelling and other symptoms when stung.
After the dog went in I ran to my desk and grabbed a sheet of clear plastic lamination. I peeled and stuck the sheet directly on the beast while gently crushing it at the same time.
All of this could just be chalked up as another encounter but the amazing thing about all of this was the sheer luck of seeing such a small object at such a great distance and being able to recognize it immediately. I’d say that it was more of a matter of sense than luck in this case. I managed to use a sixth sense (Zen, the Force or whatever else you want to call it) to spot a 1 ½ inch object over 30 feet away at night. Simply put, my kung fu is strong.
The first reader to respond to this story will win the dead, laminated scorpion mentioned in the article. Just email me your address. Good luck.
