My Imagination: Part 2...

At 3:00 AM this morning, I heard Daisie whimper, and then whimper again.

My early experiences with Daisie’s nighttime whimpers established that, were I to avoid a disaster, it was best to jump out of bed and rush her out the door. However, her credibility had become imperfect as the last few times I rushed her out the door only to find I have accommodated a nighttime romp and tracking excursion. I don’t appreciate standing at the door for 15 minutes wondering where she went, and when she might come back so I can go back to bed.

So I decided to ignore her…until my imagination kicked in.

Considering that recently someone had used our truck as a homeless shelter,while being a suspected fugitive, and The Farmer is in the Other Washington, it didn’t take long. No way was I going to let Daisie out that back door! I could just see The Bad Guy taking advantage of the door opening to get inside…And if he didn’t to that, likely he would take Daisie hostage to get in…

What to do? What to do?

Daisie was no help. Her behavior confirmed to me that she was not in need of a duty run. She continued to whine, and pace, and LOOK OUT THE WINDOWS. I was spooked – and at the same time I was SO tired. Please! Can we reschedule this crisis? I’m just too tired, and the house is cold, and my bed was warm…

 In lieu of a better weapon, I clutched my cell phone, ready to dial…And then recalled my recurring dream that I can’t dial 911…it always comes out 119, or 919, or 191 when danger is imminent…I tried to shake off the memory, and prepare my fingers for the deed.

 Daisie kept acting upset and wouldn’t respond to my efforts to calm her. We sat in the dark, so I could see what might show up at the window…Daisie came to sit with me, then went back to pacing, and then tried using the ultimate communication of boxer disapproval: she backed away from me. This is so typical of boxer manipulation: look you in the eye, ears up, make a demand for action (“I want to go out!”), lack of response results in the ultimate rejection. (“You won’t let me out? I’ll show you – I’ll back up right out of this room! Take that!”) It reinforced my fear that dear Daisie would not be much for protection in a crisis. (“Hey, Bad Guy! Take that! I’m BACKING up…”)

I could not imagine what purpose could be served by letting my dog out when The Bad Guy might be present, so I was unmoved by her display. We made another round of the windows, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever was out there. Thankfully, there was a full moon, so it was easy to see…I tried to reason with myself, realizing that Daisie would be just as upset if a cat, or rabbit, or dog had passed by in the night, as if a human had. Even so, she didn’t need to go out a-chasing in the middle of the night. Nope, whining or not, she was staying in with me.

And then Daisie decided to play dirty…She let fly with a gaseous emission that dissolved my conviction that she was not in need of a duty run. Whew! My mind was full of conflict! My nose was full of pain! Bad Guy outside or HazMat incident inside…

What to do? What to do?

Another stink-bomb swayed the verdict…Daisie was going out!

I opened the door only wide enough for her to squeeze through, and immediately became of aware of her gaseous duplicity when she ran around the deck and into the flowerbed, nose to the ground and disappeared into the dark.

And I didn’t see her again for 20 minutes…But I was feeling somewhat relieved that since she didn’t head for the truck, or the shop, or the horse shed, she wasn’t after a human. Likely, some critter had caught her attention, and she felt that she must protect her territory from invasion…

At the expense of my sleep and mental well-being…

When she showed up at the back door, she was all exorcized of her intruder angst, and happily requested a biscuit in payment for her night’s work. I gave it to her, just glad to know that the whining had ended, the threat was likely imagined, and my warm bed would soon be occupied.

I did check the flowerbeds for footprints this morning…and they were all of the animal type. So today we are going to review what constitutes the need for an intruder alert…

I don’t think it will help, especially with two occupants of this house having such good imaginations.