Sophie's World

It’s that time of year again when the yard is filled with squirrels in territorial wars.  Our yard happens to be a prime battleground too. Photo by mandj98

A neighbor a couple of doors down feeds the ducks and squirrels.  Many a day, Chris will find a chewed up corn cob on the deck.  So, there’s a sure food source, plenty of water with the lake, and the creme’ de la creme’—a black walnut tree.

I’m amazed at how these squirrels will bite into one of these huge nuts and run off with it.  Currently, a nasty and feisty red squirrels holds the reins at this fort.  Day after day, he scrambles up the black walnut tree, pulls down a walnut, runs to the side of the house where he sometimes cracks it open and eats it, and then runs across the deck through the garden to some secret hiding place.  He does this so often that he has actually worn a path from the tree to the deck.

And nasty?  Did I say nasty?  Just let one of those gray squirrels try and get in on his action.  He’ll chase them well out of the yard, practically jumping on the interloper’s back.

Needless to say, it’s keeping me occupied.  Drives me nuts when they get so close to the window and I can’t get him.  Ah, but with that one, I kind of wonder who’d be chasing whom.

Even I have to be impressed by this amazing dog story out of Phoenix.  Buddy, a trained assistance dog saved his owner’s life by calling 911 after he had a seizure. 

This was apparently all a part of Buddy’s training to assist his owner who suffered seizures as a result of a head injury.   The dog knew enough to call when he recognized his owner’s symptoms.  How amazing is that?

Dogs and cats are intelligent creatures, able to learn and observe.  Animals become acutely aware of their surroundings, quickly detecting anything changed in their world.  Trying bringing something new into the home.  We’re going to be there, checking it out.  Been with another dog or cat?  Get ready for the royal inspection when you get home.  We know.

Buddy’s story, though, goes beyond amazing.  It illustrates an incredible bond between owner and pet.

A truly heartwarming story comes from Reuters about a lost cat.  Dixie is not just any ordinary cat.  She was, and the emphasis is on was, a lost cat.  This is why you should never lose hope.  Dixie was returned with her owners whom believed she was dead after nine years.  This was possible because Dixie was microchipped.

Amazingly enough, Dixie was found less than half a mile from her home.  An animal charity took her in and as standard procedure would have it, scanned her.  Needless to say the owners–and Dixie–were over the moon.  As owner, Gilly Delaney said, "We don’t think she has stopped purring since she came back through the door."  Now doesn’t that just bring a tear to your eye?

Always in our hearts