Catching the Squirrel

My daughter's MIL had a dachshund who lived to chase squirrels.  Chased them thru her yard, chased them up trees, high line wires, over and under fences.  She chased squirrels for years, this little red sausage. And they, in turn, tormented her, taunting her from the high places and the outsideofthefence places.

Ginger made  her Life's Mission to catch a squirrel.  Just ONE squirrel, so she could experience the triumph and Joy of having known she could do it.

But the years of practice rolled by, and even with daily exercises and Encouragement from her humans and dog friends alike, she never achieved her goal.

Then, one day, Ginger and her human were walking in the park across the street from her house. A familiar face showed itself on the path around the pond, and Ginger took off, her owners leash flying like a banner behind her.  She flew like the wind, and the squirrel, who was unaccustomed to such unbridled menace, had no instinct to escape this marauder.

Ginger caught that squirrel, right square around the ribcage, turned and headed towards her mistress to display the prized trophy.

If you have ever been around squirrels for any period, you will quickly come to realize that they truly are the embodiment of the definition "squirrelly."  Their movements are jerky and fast and certainly unpredictable.  They are squirrels, and they act like squirrels. And they have sharp teeth. And they bite.

Ginger is a very sweet dachsie, unaccustomed to violence or even discomfort of any kind.  Mostly she burrows under the quilts on the couch in winter, and people's laps in summer.  She's never bitten anything except her chew toys and various chair legs....

So What! does a city dachshund DO when she finally captures her prey in a beautiful park by the lake with her panicked mistress trying vainly to regain control of leash and deal with an hysterical rodent.

Ginger had caught the squirrel, and did not have the "tools" to complete the task.

She walked around with the semi-comatose squirrel wiggling in her jaws, telling the world around her, "Omigosh! Omigosh! Omigosh! I caught the Squirrel!!"

Eventually, Ginger released her prize,allowing the sodden rodent to run up the nearest tree. Ginger remained triumphant, proud, and a bit bewildered. She had received her Heart's Desire, and her life was changed.

Last week, I, too, Caught The Squirrel.

My Collies and I have been asked to dance at the Collie National Specialty in Wisconsin this spring.

At this point, I am still walking around repeating OmigoshOmigoshOmigosh.