Baby Shower

Late this afternoon, Eric was in the paddock, barking his head off. At first, I thought he was preventing the horses from drinking too much water, a public service he is happy to peform four, six or eight hours a day. But this time, the horses were nowhere near the paddock, so I investigated. Eric was barking in the direction of the valley - at the neighbor's dog? (no) - at their horses? (no) - at a hot air balloon? (closer).

Then I saw the threat to Eric's existence. It was a blueish blob at the base of the fence. "Aliens," I thought. As I got closer, it looked more earthly, perhaps a plastic tumbleweed. Finally, I got close enough to see what it was: The Dreaded Baby Shower Balloon. I myself felt like barking! This was something definitely not in its proper place.

By this time, Fin had joined the party and was growling at the balloon. I defused the situation by bringing the balloon inside and tying it to a chair, from which it floated festively.

Or was the situation defused? We fed Eric dinner next to the chair to which the Dreaded Balloon was tied. Unwise! Eric barked his head off again (I thought you could only do that once). Fin wasn't sure at what Eric was barking, but was happy to join in, which of course, got Eric going, which got Fin going...

I moved the balloon upstairs where Eric and Fin can't see it. Unless one of them comes up in the middle of the night...

Eric the Sentinel

America's Homeland Security would be better with Eric in charge.

As Deb was cleaning stalls, Eric started barking more maniacally than usual. She looked upto see Ralph, outside the fence! It wasn't obvious how he got out, but it was clear that he was eager to rejoin the herd as he ran down the hill with Eric in hot pursuit. He finally stopped at the bottom of the hill near the woods where he sparked up a little neighborly chat with Tiger and Mickey. As calm as Ralph now was, Eric and Deb were frantic and resolute, respectively. Deb marched down the hill armed with carrot and lead rope, Eric yapped away in the meadow, guarding Ralph's left flank.

Then Deb caught Ralph and led him up the hill, The End - no more story, except for Deb's forensic analysis of the event. It appears that Ralph was in the Electric Field when he discovered that he was separated from the herd. Rather than retrace his steps back to the barn and the main pasture, he chose the straighter path under the electric fence (not turned on), in the driveway, thence to the barn and hill described above. I witnessed the hoof print evidence, and I have to agree with her assessment.

OK, it's not that great a story; let me make up for it by linking to a much better tale about small dogs. Eric applied for the research project described in the link, but was the 21st dog: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/45802