Two dogs reside on our hilltop with us. One is Beau, a six-year-old Boxer, and the other is Tinker Bell, a four-year-old Chihuahua. Both dogs sleep in the house, and usually join us on our king-size bed at night. Their interactions with each other, with us, and with the cattle, squirrels, birds, rabbits, bobcat, and coyote can be entertaining. Sometimes that interaction can even be dangerous.
During the day and the evenings I put both dogs outside on a
regular basis. Beau has no problem
taking care of his business outside, but Tinker is a whole different
story. I swear she holds it when I take
her outside so she can go inside on the rug, either in my office. Sometimes she leaves me a surprise in my
bathroom which make for an interesting late night trips in the dark to the
toilet.
In the summer, I often have irrigation of my green pastures to
tend to first thing in the morning. When
I go outside, I often take both dogs with me.
Beau usually goes with me into the pasture, and quite often Tinker will
go down the driveway as far as the ditch, which is about half way down the
hill.
As I work with the irrigation I always keep an eye on Tinker Bell,
and watching for the presence of wandering coyotes. A few months ago I was working
inside the barn. My attention was drawn
to a disturbance on the road. One of the
dogs barked and yelped frantically.
I rushed out the front door of the barn, and thought I saw three
dogs on the road. Hey, wait a minute I
don't have three dogs, only two.
Included in the animals on the roadway was a hungry coyote.
I began shouting as loud as I could. My cries stirred Beau into action. Barking, he tore after the coyote. Scared for her life, the chihuahua yipped continuously
as she raced up the road toward the safety of the house as fast as her short
legs would carry her.
Because of Beau’s barking the coyote abandoned the chase and disappeared
over the hill. With the combination of
an upset Boxer chasing him, a very noisy human at the barn, and a rapidly
disappearing and yelping dog racing up the road, it was time to look for a
quieter breakfast. The coyote must have
decided a rabbit wouldn't have reinforcements and might be a better idea.
When I caught up with the little dog at the house, I learned how
close she came to being the coyote’s morning repast. On the top of her shoulders was a half-inch
slice from a slashing coyote canine tooth.
One tooth caught her hide, the other must have missed. A quick trip to the vet, a thorough cleaning
of the wound, three stitches and an overnight stay and she was good to go.
After that experience, when Tink goes with Beau and me down into the
pasture, I always watch for a predator passing through the area. Even after Tinker Bell’s narrow escape, the
marauding coyote is not her greatest risk.
My cows are used to seeing Beau pass among them, but Tink is tiny
and arouses their curiosity. Curious
cows will investigate and sniff at the little creature.
This morning I was irrigating below the bridge when I heard the
Chihuahua barking ferociously. I looked
up quickly, fearing something dangerous threatened her.
Instead of a hungry coyote, two curious cows slowly walked toward
her, heads down, sniffing and trying to see this little bitty critter. To Tinker these two large animals posed a
tremendous threat. At ten pounds she was
dwarfed by a creature at least eighty times her weight.
She raced up the driveway toward the safety of the house, yelping over her shoulder at those big mean cows. Once safely at the yard, she paused in her flight and gave two last indignant barks. Her pointed comment made, she haughtily ducked under the fence. The cows returned to grazing, unimpressed.
She raced up the driveway toward the safety of the house, yelping over her shoulder at those big mean cows. Once safely at the yard, she paused in her flight and gave two last indignant barks. Her pointed comment made, she haughtily ducked under the fence. The cows returned to grazing, unimpressed.
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