My Lovely Daughter

Buttons and I have returned to enjoying long morning walks around the lake at MHC, now that the clocks have been turned back and it's light out by 6:15am. And she's been extra...shall we say..."lively" this past week.

I'm not sure if it's that she's been getting less exercise and therefore has more pent-up energy. Or maybe it's the freakishly warm weather we've been having. In any case, something has gotten into her.

Her antics this week include:

1. Falling way behind me as we circle the lake and neglecting to obey me when I tell her to "come."
2. Eating poop.
3. Rolling in smelly "stuff" (generally unidentifiable substances, and I'm sure it's better that way).
4. Racing around at top speed like a maniac for a full 5 minutes when it's time to put her leash back on and head home.

But this morning she really out-did herself. Halfway around the lake she picked up this thing. It was dark in color and possibly furry. It was maybe 6-8 inches long and thin and dangled out of her mouth as she trotted along. I attempted the "drop it" and "leave it" commands, but she just laughed at me. Before long, she had slurped the entire thing into her mouth (and then just held it there, like a squirrel storing nuts).

I somehow managed to get her leash back on and get her home, all the while with her drooling from holding this thing in her cheek, like a wad of chewing tobacco. I tried a couple more times to get her to drop it, both with verbal commands and by poking a stick in her mouth and trying to dislodge the thing from her jaw. No luck.

When we arrived home, I locked her on the deck and went inside. I figured she'd either eat the damn thing or get bored of it and spit it out. As soon as I had my shoes off I heard her crunch it a couple times and drop it on the deck. Then she suddenly decided to start listening to me. I told her to "leave it" and come in the house and she did, very obediently.

Now I was left with the task of disposing of this thing. Care to know what it was? My daughter, with her impeccable taste, had been sucking on a squirrel head (and neck and a few stringy entrails). Clearly not a whole squirrel--just what some other animal left behind. How delightful.

Yet I love her anyway. I can't help it.