Hero, mighty watchdog

Last night around eleven, I put out the dogs for their last bathroom break, as I always do. A few moments later I heard Hero barking fiercely (and Impulse's more falsetto tones chiming in). I ran out and saw something large and brownish running through the neighbor's yard.

Hero came racing to me and ran back and forth, clearly trying to tell me something was amiss: Mom, there's something out there!!!

"The neighbors just let their dogs out, you big dummy," I told him. He loves the neighbor's dogs, and doesn't bark at them much, but sometimes in the dark he gets a little overzealous with the guard dog routine. "Hush. It's late."

I grabbed at his collar, but he dodged, and went back to racing along the property line, barking like a maniac. I called to him, but he refused to come to me, just raced up and down, defending his yard for all he was worth. I said some unpleasant words under my breath, thinking of the poor neighbors who were being awakened by my very stupid dog, and went back in to grab a leash. With the leash on his collar, Hero settled down and allowed himself to be led back into the house.

This morning, when I was more awake, it dawned on me that Hero is not stupid (despite occasional appearances) and that if he was that angry, there was probably a good reason. I called my neighbor this afternoon, and she confirmed that her dogs hadn't been outside-- in fact, she'd heard Hero barking, and had decided not to let her dogs out because he sounded so upset. So whatever he was mad about wasn't her dogs. Might have been a deer, might have been a stray. Two different people have claimed they've seen a bobcat around (which seems extremely unlikely here in the suburbs, but I suppose it's possible), so it might have been that, too.

But whatever it was... it definitely didn't belong in the back yard, and Hero knew what he was doing when he chased it out!