They Go Nuts for Squirrels

In the past month, Catherine and I have started filling up the bird feeder in the backyard. I love nature and birds — not so much the boring brown ones. However, our dogs also took notice of the explosion of wildlife in our yard.

Say you're walking through the kitchen. Maybe you want something from the refrigerator, or perhaps you're going to retrieve a load from the laundry room. Well, that's your mistake because if you go anywhere near the backdoor, the dogs go nuts. Our sweet, loving pets turn into 10-pound savage beasts.

Now, what happens when (God forbid) you actually open the backdoor? Move out of the way because the dogs are on a mission to catch a squirrel. Nevermind the fact that our suburbanized pets, who are too good for everyday rawhide bones and only eat the most expensive Dingo varieties, wouldn't know what to do if they actually caught up to the squirrel. But they give it a good chase, and I thank God for making squirrels such fast creatures.

So, after the chase ... the dogs stand watch. Squirrels daring to enter our backyard get one of two things. A stare down from Riley as she creeps slowly closer and closer to the fence. Or the blood-thirsty relentlessness of Baxter. I also thank God for making squirrels so smart.

I took the picture below yesterday. Baxter was roaming around the fence wondering, "Where the heck did that squirrel go?" All the while, the smart squirrel is sitting at the top of the fence laughing and saying to himself, "I'm right here, stupid" (You may have to click on the photo to get the full effect).


One of my former co-workers has a pet squirrel that lives inside her home. I always thought that was a little crazy, but I'm starting to understand why.