Andy and Fred

I learned something about Andy the other day ..he’s not a ‘bird dog’ like I had originally thought ..instead, I found out that he’s been bred to track critters in the bush ..like otters and possum and stuff. When I think we’re out taking a walk ..he’s out on a hunt. I learned something about rats the other day too. They’re one of the critters Andy was bred to hunt. I have first hand experience with this, because ..I am temporarily in charge of Aria’s pet rat ‘Fred’ while the family is away. It took me awhile, but I have finally given up any hope of trying to negotiate a truce between Andy and Fred ..there’s just too much history. After my final attempt ..while I was putting Fred back in his cage ..Andy defied my order to stay and made a move ..causing Fred to leap out of my hand and into the detritus of my garage ..making himself nearly impossible to find. It was 10 pm ..the end of a long day, and I hadn’t eaten. So, I took Andy inside and began to prepare supper ..figuring Fred would turn up eventually ..and hopefully not dead. Then I started getting these images of wild animals tearing him to shreds ..or my car tires squishing him to death ..and wondering how I was going to explain this to Aria ..when I suddenly remembered that ‘finding critters’ is what Andy does best ..so, I let Andy back in the garage and continued preparing supper ..while listening to him run around and around out there ..and thinking that he’s just excited ..when I go back to find that he’s actually got Fred cornered behind some storage boxes. Now, Andy was not able to see him ..but he could smell him ..and man, he was a dog on a hunt. Andy looked at me and I looked at him ..and then I started throwing boxes out of the way. When the boxes got too heavy to move ..I got a flash light and mirror and spotted Fred between the boxes and the wall. So, I put a jar on one side ..and Andy flushed him into it from the other side. Fred is now safely back in his cage ..apparently unfazed ..and perhaps, who knows, maybe even a little thrilled to have momentarily re-connected with his natural role in the wild. But I’m anthropomorphizing. What I can say for sure is that Andy felt the thrill of the chase ..and he got treated to a steak dinner that night. Fred, on the other hand, got treated to sliced avocado ..which I found out is his favorite dish.