Now is a great day to introduce you to one of the three dogs that live in our house.
Mickey Sue seen here to the left is my middle "child". He is a rescue - as are all my dogs - who found me in March of 2000. He was just a baby, probably a month or two old and his back leg was very gimpy. He had already healed from whatever injury he had and was still strong and scrappy. That's my Mickey... tough as nails and low maintenance. If I were a dog, I would be a Mickey.
Anyway... for the first 5 years of his life we lived in a tiny little town of about 200 people. We had a huge yard with lots of huge trees and all of this went unnoticed by Mickey for the most part. Trees were pee-posts and that was the extent of his interest in them. Four years ago, we moved into a larger town of about 100K in another house with a big yard and again, lots of huge trees. But these trees were different - these trees had inhabitants!! They were populated with a prison gang of cocky little hairballs. That's right - squirrels. This was a completely new experience for Mickey and he was duly fascinated.
When we moved in he started looking up and searching the trees ... every.single. second. he was outside. I was worried that he was going to injure his neck or his balance or something as much time as he spent looking straight UP.
So over the next four years, the squirrels and Mickey began a game in which only they know the rules. They run from roof to tree to tree and he runs beneath them bitching at them for being in "his" trees. They sit on the lowest branch they feel comfortable and chitter away at him for being a stupid dog. Once in a blue moon, one will get brave enough to come down into the yard to either bury or dig up a pecan or acorn. This usually never happens when Mickey is actually IN the yard with them though. So for 48 long months, Mickey has bided his time waiting for the opportune moment. Today....... that moment came. :D
About 9am I was sitting at my computer with all the windows open (in the middle of a room renovation and that's another story. But I digress) listening to the same squirrel / dog conversation I listen to most mornings. The squirrel is smack talking and Mickey is threatening him with his life. Not much new there - so I was only half listening. But they are getting really loud - much louder than normal. I'm beginning to get irritated because of the racket. Then... the squirrel makes a sound I haven't heard before.... . . . It was sort of a loud cross between a bark and a scream. It does this repeatedly. Of course now they have my full attention. I holler at Mickey out the window and all I hear is scrambling feet and then something hitting the bushes along the fence at full tilt.
This brings me up out of my chair and out the back door. Mickey is halfway up the inside of this huge bush (as tall as the house) going at 150%. Once he hears me, he comes out with this strange look on his face. Yes, I know he's a dog - but his face is really expressive - no really! He looked.... TRIUMPHANT!!! He runs up to me and stops about 10 feet away and looks down. I follow his beaming gaze and what do I see???
I think I see what happened. haha!!I would reconstruct the scene like this: The squirrel inches lower and lower chittering and stamping his little feet (they like to do that) until he passes into "No Squirrel Land". Mickey jumps up (he's pretty agile for a three legged dog) and snatches him out of the tree. Then the race is on to see if the squirrel (minus 3 inches of his tail) can make it to the bush before Mickey latches on to something a little more sturdy!
Anyway, I would just like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mickey on his long awaited accomplishment. I know he has been long suffering and more patient than any other soul has sense to be. I would also like to congratulate the newly bobbed squirrel on making it to the bush.
