At the heart of every Westie, lies a hunter. Having three of them, we know this to be true. While I will refrain from giving you past stories of critters that have been hunted down in our backyard, I will share a story in which Anabelle just about met her match.
Every morning begins with my husband letting our dogs outside to do their business. Yesterday morning was a little different than most mornings because my husband had a much earlier start to his day and had already left the house. Before I go on with the story, you have to know how much I tread letting the dogs outside. We don't have a fenced in yard so that means whenever the dogs go out, someone has to go out with them, or stand watch at the window. What should take a brief amount of time in my mind, takes entirely too long. I know they are just dogs and there are things to smell, roll in, and in Henry's case, leave his mark upon.
Our dogs have for the most part learned to stay within the confines of their own yard. Anabelle is the one that we trust the most because she is timid and easily frightened when put in unfamiliar surroundings. She doesn't like to veer far from home and when walking without her leash down the driveway, she will run like nobody's business back to where she knows she belongs.
So back to the story...
I opened the door to let the dogs out and before I know it, Anabelle is running full speed to the back of our property. Remember, Anabelle is very content and happy to stay in her own backyard but not this morning. I'm looking to see what she possibly could be going after because it's not uncommon for different critters and wildlife to make their way through the property. We have groundhogs that reside under the barn, foxes that often make an appearance through the back field and plenty of squirrels. Our other dog, Lily, even decided to go chasing after a deer one morning. Yes, deer that are like 100 times bigger than she will ever be. I suppose when you are a hunter, size doesn't matter.
As I'm looking, I see a black and white critter make it's way across the back. At first, I really thought it was the cat we often see in the fields behind us. As I am running (with my pajamas and slippers on) and getting closer, I see that it is far from a cat, but instead, a skunk. In my mind, I'm already trying to determine how far am I going to run after this dog and what was it I heard about tomato sauce taking out the skunk's odor?
Westies are bred to chase and hunt varmint, or basically anything that has four legs. They are intelligent and hearty and don't lack confidence. The one thing they don't do well is listen to their people as they are running (in my pj's and slippers remember) through the yard telling them to stop.
Yes, at the heart of every Westie is a hunter and nothing can stop them.
Anabelle made it all the way to the back of our property literally on the tail end of the skunk. The only reason she didn't get sprayed was because apparently skunks can't run and spray at the same time. Good to know.
As my son, Sam, and I made our way back to the house with Anabelle, we couldn't stop talking about what a lucky dog she was.
I think that maybe perhaps, she knows how lucky she is too.
