Dogs? When I worked for a piano dealer, we had a hysterical lady call the service department because her cat got its foot stuck in the bass strings of the new grand piano that had just been delivered. You could hear it howling in the background and everything! Our receptionist lost it, but through the laughter managed to tell the lady to use a wooden spoon to spread the offending bass strings! The same company sent me to service a baby grand piano that had sticking keys. I thought the little piece of fur was a child's toy! Turns out some squirrel got its neck broken when one of the kids tromped on the pedals. Poor thing was wedged between the underlever tray and the sustenuto monkey. Then there was a complaint about sticking keys on a new console piano. I pushed back the fallboard - and it came back at me! So I pushed it back again, and it stayed. When I went to lift out the offending key to ease the center bushing, a whole bunch of baby mice started falling out onto my lap, then into my tool bag at my feet! The lady of the house screamed something to her son in some language I never heard of, but he came running into the room with a Shop Vac! And of course, momma mouse had just been done in slammed against the soft pedal dowel. How was I to know! THank goodness one of the other techs got the call that the pedals were hissing. Turns out the builder of the new houses in the neighborhood was displacing the wildlife, and a copperhead snake had found its way into this new upright. I am told the police showed up and the officer drew his gun, but the piano tech stopped him - something about the plate! Finally the animal control folks showed up with one of those forked sticks and solved the problem! But dogs? Carol Beigel Greenbelt, Maryland
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