Most people name their pets on whimsy, or even as an afterthought.
Never, I think, has a dog received a more appropriate name than Angel, of Boston Bar, BC:
When Austin had paused his wheel barrel full of wood, he had heard the sound of something crunching in the snow. He saw a dark shadow about an arm’s length from him. Just then it lunged. When the cougar charged Austin, Angel took the blow instead. She leapt a full 1.5 meres above the ground, sailed over a lawn mower, and intercepted it mid-air, just as it was about to pounce on Austin. With Angel entangled in a frantic battle, Austin stayed long enough to determine it was not just another dog but a cougar and then ran inside his home to have his mom Sherri call for help while Angel continued to battle. “I was terrified,” said Austin. “My dog saved my life, but now the cougar had her.” For awhile Angel and the cougar were both heard. Then it went silent.
An amazing tale, as well as a good reminder of why I’m a dog person.
It’s an even better reminder of why it’s good to be a gun person. From the 11 year old’s point of view, the dog saved him. From the dog’s point of view, the only thing that saved it was a man with a gun.
Indeed, ASM. Not to mention having a gun close by, which only luck provided in this instance. I hope the family learned that lesson.
Top story – so happy it had a happy ending for Angel…for all the bad press that dog attacks get, we forget just how loyal they can be…
We’ve got a 3 year old Rottweiler that my wife tolerates (even though she bought him) – he is gentle giant but a bit clumsy because of his size and weight – polished wooden floors are not his friend – and she’s always treated him as a big dummy and lavishes all her attention on her cat. We had some friends visiting one night and after a few drinks one thought he’d show off his martial arts prowess in my wife’s direction. Imagine the chill in his veins when he found himself eye to eye with 55kg of very concerned canine citizen…I said to my wife later “you wouldn’t see your cat doing that for you…”
A good tale indeed. And a reminder of why I’m a cat person.
[...] Neptunus Lex has a touching story about a boy and his dog…things you wouldn’t see your cat doing for you… [...]
I’m very fortunate in that I am tri-lingual: I can speak human, cat and dog and get along quite well with all of them. One day soon (after I shear off some of their coat) I’ll post their pictures on my Facebook page. Of course, all three will be in my lap, since the two largest weight but 15 pds, and the Maltese, he who killed a rat longer than him, but seven.
And yes, I did burn my man card and don’t care.
Hell, if it had been my dog, I’d have been out there with a baseball bat or butcher knife if I didn’t have a gun.
My dog? Bare hands if necessary. Teeth? Sure. My dogs are my little buddies, and I will cause extreme pain and injury to anyone who tries to harm them.
I’ve said it before, Man & our K-9′s ancestors made a pact 15000 years ago – We would provide warmth, shelter & easy access to food – In return, they would provide us with protection from the things that lurked in the darkness that would want to have US for supper.
This pact has not been broken and is likely the longest standing non-written, non-verbal agreement in the history of man…I am in AFGHN and the War Dogs here are the difference between life & death for our troops….
CATS on the other hand were worshipped as GODS 5000 years ago and have never forgotten…I’ll take our K-9 friends anyday,,,in fact, my dog likes to smoke cigars with me…everytime I go outside to smoke one, she goes out with me & sniffs the smoke…man’s best friend indeed.
I’ve generally always had at least one of each around. My cats are always friendly enough. Cats really like waterbeds, it turns out. I’ve got a pretty big yard for the Chicago suburbs, 3/4 of an acre and at least 1/2 of that fenced in for the dog to run around in. I’ve got a doggy door that the cat uses too.
The cat occasionally uses the doggy door to bring it’s latest catch in. Sometimes the catch gets away. A few mouse traps have taken care of what she doesn’t track down. I needed a rat trap for the chipmunk. The robin I just opened the front door and after a while it left on it’s own.
SJPONeill -> “55kg of very concerned canine citizen” … what a nice innocuous description.
Regarding the linked story: even more amazing is the fact that the dog survived. The cougar must have been a youngster, not really sure how to kill. An experienced adult wouldn’t have mucked around. The dog would’ve been quickly and efficiently dead.
My vote goes into the canine column. My first was a Dalmatian, have raised several Labs, fox terriers and now a pair of nicely matched tri-colored Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.
I do know one way to train a cat to come when you call it: You wait, until it finally turns your direction, and then you quickly call its name.
The well-guarded secret to get a cat to come to you? Simple: call it’s name, sit down, open a book, and the cat will promptly be on top of the book demanding to know why you’re ignoring it
When my mother-in-law lived with me for two years, I found the most effective cat call was the can opener. Alas, it also called the Blue Heeler which had this thing about the Cat….
Just a cougar doing what predators do. As it has been for millenia.
[...] is Kirk, the “…55kg of concerned canine citizen…” I referred to in Lex’s Angel post the other day. Kirk and his half-sister Lulu live with us. Kirk is concerned that readers [...]