Warning bad dog
Posted on October 5, 2007 - Filed Under animals, cats, dog, goats, neighbors
Last night, we were awakened by the sounds of dogs barking. Not unusual having two of our own who take their barking duties very seriously. However, there were other dogs answering back. And there was some sort of wailing, that I assumed was a dog, but I couldn’t recognize as it started and stopped rather quickly. My first thought was the dogs were attacking the goats. Although we have an electric fence which keeps animals in and out, sometimes it goes down or animals find a hole in the fence before we do. The previous owners had a pregnant mama goat killed by wild dogs one winter.
As it happened the dogs weren’t in the pasture, but by the pasture outside our bedroom door. I could hear them and see shadowy black figures running around. I thought they were just excited because our dogs were barking at them. Being half asleep, we didn’t really react much. I banged on the door window a few times with my wedding ring and they ran off. I could see them taking off down the road. Excitement over, we easily went back to sleep.
In the morning, we found what all the excitement was about. They had cornered and killed one of our cats…Pearl. Pearl was a sweet, plump Siamese who had come with the house. She had lived here for 13 years with no real problems until last night. I never really worry about the “house” cats that we inherited. I mean, they’ve lived here longer than we have, know the territory and have survived just fine all this time. Until now. Pearl was getting on in age and her eyesight has been deteriorating (common in Siamese). I guess time, not to mention dogs, just caught up with her.
I feel bad because I wish I could have helped her. I’m angry that I didn’t react faster. As I was sleepily staring out the bedroom door, she was being attacked. Now I’m worried about the other remaining cats, especially our new kitten. I’ll tell you one thing, the next dog I find on our property that I don’t know is in for a rude awakening. I got mine last night.
There are lots of dogs out here. Most are kept in a kennel, like ours. Sometimes they get out and wander, like ours. Some have no home and are simply wanderers. They live in the woods and travel in packs. People are very cautious of wandering dogs and tend to shoot first, ask questions later. I worry about Buster getting shot. He’s a big dog, looks kind of wolf-like and likes to run through the woods. I’d obviously be pretty upset if someone shot our dog. But after last night, I can understand the inclination. First, a cat. Who’s next? A goat? Buster? Jett?
Sigh. I can’t believe this is me talking.
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