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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Close Encounters of the Wild Kind.

Now that the days contain three hours of light...our morning constitutional is taken in the very early dawn.  Lovey is not fond of the darkish.  We totter down the steps from the front deck to the path, scattering rabbits in every direction.  Scrappy is not interested in wildlife.  Lovey is too spooked to care and I have a firm grip on "Killer's" leash.  All 10 lbs of him.

The road is nice and quiet and the sheep - for a change - just stare at us without bleating.  Our first encounter this morning involved a good-sized black and white 'kitty'.  Not.  Pepe le Pew was about 30 feet in front of us, waddling across the road.  Knowing that I did not have to fear some lunacy from Scrappy or Lovey, I scooped up "Jaws" and waited politely until PleP was well out of sight.  Down went "Snapper" and off we went, Lovey glued to my ankles.  The rest of the walk was uneventful, until we turned to head back home.

A very, very large coyote came out of the field and stopped in the middle of the road and stared at us.  Once again, I scooped up the "Morsel on a Leash", this time with Lovey AND Scrappy stuck to my side, and waited politely.  For a long time.  I swear he was waiting for me to blink.  I didn't.  He finally ambled across the road and up the hill into the woods.  We waited for another long moment before we started off.  I did not put the morsel down until we were on our driveway.

Wow.

*You will notice that Pepper/Pepperoni/Killer/Snapper/Jaws/Stinky/HeyYou has many aliases.

11 comments:

jaz@octoberfarm said...

those coyotes can be very scary. glad you all made it home safe and smelling good!

Sue said...

There seems to be an abundance of skunks this year. We were at the Amish store this morning and a lady said her dog had "tangled" with one last night----got a direct hit, then ran straight for the house--they have a dog door which he conveniently used. Ran through the whole house. I've lived that nightmare. It takes WEEKS of constant cleaning to get rid of the stench.
Glad you guys returned home safe and sound from encounters.
I love love love autumn, but the shortness of the days--well.................no.

Mama Pea said...

Oh, my oh my oh my! Really glad you did NOT have a close encounter with either the black and white kitty (!) or the coyote. Taking all three of your furry buddies out on their walks must be interesting many days, to say the least!

melanie said...

Maybe you should take Mr. .22 with you on your walks?

Sandy Livesay said...

Susan,

Be careful when walking with your pups. I hope you carry something to protect yourself.

Susan said...

Jaz - Yes, it was a titillating walk, that is for sure. I sure wasn't interested in Eau d' LePew

Susan said...

Sue - Yes, I've seen a lot of them - mostly, sadly, by the side of the road. That direct hit/in the house thing is a nightmare! I am so glad I do not have a doggie door! Yes, though Autumn is my favorite season, it is the onset of darkness. Time to pull out the Vitamin D3...

Susan said...

Mama Pea - That makes two of us! Yes, it's a real kerfuffle trying to get all the dogs in tow with three leashes. Thank goodness Scrappy does not care about things like coyotes and skunks. I've got my hands full with the small fry.

Susan said...

Melanie - You know, I thought about that - but I would need a Mr. Handgun .22. One hand would be full occupied with Jaws.

Susan said...

Sandy - Yes, I carry Pepper. Roni. :) Maybe I should consider Pepper Spray?

Fiona said...

Size of a Sausage..heart of a tiger! What is it about small dogs that makes them think they are invincible bear killers? Your patience is the best way...well at least in my experience...if coyotes are curious they will look but you were calm and determined without being aggressive so that would have let him remain calm...he was probably looking for mice.