Bringing in the Big Guns

If you've been reading about my adventures for a while, you may remember me mentioning a certain coyote I've had a few tangles with from time to time. Well, it's been almost 2 years now and Mum and Dad have decided it's time to bring in the Big Guns.

I think it had something to do with a couple of incidents recently. A few nights ago, the coyote dared to come to the front terrace and take me by surprise while I was having an early evening snooze. It actually tried to come up over the railings, but I was having none of it and a ferocious battle ensued through the bars. Dad came running out to see the coyote on its hind legs, reaching up to the railing. I haven't been allowed out on the terrace at night on my own since then, and that's a sad state of affairs, as you can imagine. I can't defend my territory, and I know that coyote has just been swanning through the bushes and leaving its scent all along the side of the house.

Case in point, two mornings later, Mum and I went on our early morning leash walk. She lets me decide which way to go, so we hurried to the library, because I could smell the coyote had left some fresh scent in that direction. Little did Mum know quite how fresh the scent was. I was just catching up to the latest smells and realizing we were getting nice and close when we heard the familiar "yip, yip, yip" and the coyote popped out from behind a bush. Talk about mad! I was beside myself and took the opportunity to use my nifty slipping out of the collar trick. That always gets Mum yelling at the top of her lungs and chasing after me.

We got a pretty good run through the field of foxtails and under the barbed wire fence to the little park at the bottom of our street. I was just about to nab it when our neighbor came out holding her little dog and the coyote managed to slip away. My Mum has always taught me good manners, and I thought it would be rude to rush on past without stopping to say hello. Besides, the neighbor lady was using that sweet, high-pitched voice to talk to me and I can never resist. Plus, I wanted to get a closer look at the little dog tucked under her arm. So I changed tack and set my butt to wiggling, edging up to them for some pettings, and possibly a yummy treat.

Mum, as usual, was lagging far behind and had to sit down when she reached us. She was saying something about me giving her a heart attack.

Dad had been out in the car looking for us, because he'd also heard the yip, yip, yipping from up at the house. He got on the phone to Animal Control, who decided this was a job for Fish and Game. That sounds like a whole lot of fun to me. Fishing is one of my favorite pastimes, and I'm up for a good game any time. This game is called Operation Intercept and Intimidate. They've assigned me a personal assistant called Lee, and together we're going to show this coyote what's what. He knows all the sneaky coyote tricks, so I think we're in with a good chance for success.

I'll tell you more about it when I write again. We're off on a camping trip for a while as Mum and Dad said we all need a good rest.

By the way, what do you think of my recent pedicure? It's supposed to keep the foxtails out of my toes.

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you about Dirty Harry. I'm so glad he showed up for this photo, so Mum and Dad can stop blaming me for eating the bird eggs. No time to explain now. I need to oversee the packing and make sure they're taking enough treats for me. See you when we get back.