One of my important responsibilities is guarding the house. This includes my house, and when I am there, my grandma’s house and the house in the north woods. I guard the house from wild critters close by. At my house we can have coyotes prowling about in the neighborhood at night. The coyotes travel through the big playfield behind my house and along the easement behind the houses in the neighborhood. Occasionally we get a marauding raccoon or possum in the area. There are a lot of bunnies that live nearby. The bunnies like to hang out in my backyard underneath the bushes and cedar trees. Just so you know, bunnies pose no threat but it sure is fun to chase them. The same wild critters are around the house in the north woods. Additional threats I face up north are white-tailed deer, porcupines, fishers, gray wolves, black bear, and cougars. I bark to let Mister Tom know about any critter escapades. Otherwise he would be clueless.
A related responsibility is guarding against the roving bands of evil-doing upholstery thieves. To that end, I fling myself in harm’s way by placing my body directly between the upholstered furniture and potential threat. I generally lie on the upholstered furniture to ensure that I am not caught off guard, and I’m ready to immediately spring into action.
GUARD DUTY (Copyright 2013 by Buster J. Brown)
Strange animals in the neighborhood,
I alert him like any sentry would.
Hackles raised and menacing growl,
Now he’s aware that critters prowl.
If he sleeps, I urgently wake him,
Using whines and cries and physical action.
Sometimes I have to be persistent,
If I encounter his sleepy resistance.
With me and Eddie, our constant vigilance,
Security ne’er breached, not one instance.
Debt owed for a job well done,
Thanks and praise in satisfaction.
Guarding furniture, my actions more subtle,
Keeping low profile in case there is trouble.
I feign comfy, sleepy composure,
In case nearby lurks a furniture burglar.
He insists my furniture guarding, merely a ruse,
My subterfuge for an afternoon snooze.
Yet all upholstery remains in place,
No evil doers have breached this space!
You sure are a hard working dog, Buster. Along with obedience work it must take up all of your time. Does Eddie help with your duties? It must be a relief to have backup.
Haley seems to feel the local critters here (human also) need urging on. She barks at critters passing by or critters loitering in the nearby park and pond. I keep telling her that sentry duty is not needed. The one time that I’d appreciate it is whwn door to door solicitors lurk at the door. They are hearty, brave critters. They insist on getting their rehearsed speechs said before leaving. They are not afraid of the sentry rott at all.
Hi Miss Nancy! Eddie is very helpful on guard duty. In addition to helping guard against all those named critters, Eddie is constantly on watch for the evil, magical squirrels. He knows to look to the trees for the squirrels and he gets very agitated when he sees a squirrel. I bark when people critters come to the door. Eddie does not bark when people are at the door, but he sure barks a lot at the evil, magical squirrels.
Great job, Buster! Glad to know that you’re “on duty” at all times, asleep or awake. Must be a big comfort to Mister Tom.