Misty is the oldest of the dogs, having been born in 1995. You'd think that with seniority would come a little respect. The youngsters, however, consider her one of them, and frequently invite her out to play. She will join them in a heartbeat to fulfill her social obligations, but let a squirrel flick its tail in her direction, and off she races. Max is about six years old, Hermione might be three, and Buddy, I'm not sure about... possibly he's the same age as Max.
Hermione is a sweet boxer, a faithful follower of her owner, Marlene. I mention this because Marlene has been letting my dogs out of the house for me for the past three years (her older brothers did it for the three years before that). She gets home before I do. Hermione follows Marlene whenever she comes over here, providing companionship and protection.
Buddy lives across the street and he, too, is a faithful companion to the family that lives with him. Neither he nor Hermione ever get into dog fights with my dogs, and neither will aggressively go after another dog without being attacked first. Except Max.
Max, the little black schnauzer, has an urge to prove that he is as bad as the next big dog, and will make a bold move against any dog who crosses Max's territory. When Misty sees that Max is in danger of getting killed by another dog, she will sprint into action, her maternal instincts rising to protect the youngster she raised from a pup. Intervening in this aggressive manner is enough to incite any big bad dog to chase her instead of Max. It works every time. Max escapes without a scratch, and Misty runs as fast as a hurricane wind. If she thinks she can't outrun the big bad dog on her tail, she will lay down and demonstrate her submissive skills, and if she is lucky, the fight is over. If not, she'll come home with a gash on her backside or on her face, and I will get all upset because someone's big bad dog was running loose and chasing my good and innocent little dogs. How do you ask someone to keep their dog leashed or fenced when you let your own dogs run free once in awhile?
Our neighborhood is friendly in that way. We know each other's pets by name. This is far more personal than knowing husbands' and children's names. Pets come and go more frequently, and they seem to make their rounds of the neighbors' yards, in a non-invasive or non-destructive manner. None of our neighbors have fences to prevent animals from wandering about, and so I am amazed that more people don't complain. The truth is, there really isn't much to complain about. There must be about 30 or more cats and dogs in this neighborhood, and for the most part, they stay in their own territories. The ones who didn't are not alive today. A couple were hit by cars, a few wandered far from home and never came back. Only rumors remain to explain their sudden disappearance. Some may have been stolen right from the street, but over the years, altogether, not many have disappeared or been killed.
I seldom see them all together like I saw them when I came home from school today. The workshop I had attended let out a little earlier than expected, and I had already asked Marlene to come over and let them out, but I got home before she did. Seeing the opportunity to get a picture of the doggie friends, I got out my camera, while Marlene and her friend Mary Catherine tried to get the dogs together in a picture without themselves in the photo. I took two photos of all of them together with the girls, which are pretty cute, but since I don't yet have parental permission to use the photos on my journal site, I am not going to include those at this time.
However, the one above seems to tell a story. A story of canine camaraderie.
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