The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

When we first got Heidi, our chocolate Labrador, she learned quickly not to get too close to either our horses or our barn cats. After a few close misses with our most aggressive horse, she learned not to go into their pasture when they were outside. It was fine to go along with us when we were riding, but don’t invade their territory.

Likewise, after a few encounters with out barn cats, she learned not to go in the barn unless we were with her. If we were in the barn, the aggressive cats would make themselves scarce, so it was safe for Heidi usually.

However, in the yard of our acreage she would often chase rabbits and birds. The birds were not near as much fun, as they would fly away when she got close enough to catch them. The rabbits were usually too fast for her and would get away. She would also chase cats outside, but only if they were running from her – the minute they would stop and turn towards her, she would go the other direction.

We had a large kennel that she usually stayed in outside while we were at work. Being outside was just not the best place for her to be for two reasons: First, she would bark loud and often while outside and second, the birds knew she could not get to them from inside her dog run, so they would often harass her.

Eventually we moved her kennel inside our new garage, and it was much more peaceful for both her and us. Because she was inside, she very seldom barked and mostly she did not have other animals inside the garage. She was only inside her kennel when we were at work and the rest of the time, she was either loose in the garage or outside with us.

Because of her previous experiences with both the birds and cats, she was not tolerant of any creatures being in her garage. When she was loose in there, any birds that got inside learned quickly that they needed to stay out of her garage or she would catch them. She also did not want cats as company. If she happened to be loose and a cat would find its way in, she would chase it until it left. They knew the garage was hers, so they usually would not turn to fight her.

Even in new garages, things happen. A pane of glass on the door was broken, giving enough space for a cat to crawl in. One day when she was loose, Heidi spotted the cat and chased it around the garage. Eventually the cat found its way to the door and jumped towards the window but was only able to get its paws on the bottom of the window frame. It knew the dog was in hot pursuit, so it did not want to go back down. Instead, it was holding on by its paws with its tail hanging down below it. Heidi immediately went towards the window, and we thought sure she would go up after the cat and drag it down. Instead, the cat’s tail fascinated her. She looked at it and pushed the cat to one side with her nose and let it go. Suddenly the cat was swinging back and forth. We could not believe what we were seeing. Heidi watched the cat until it almost stopped, and then she pushed it again and let her swing once more. She was not interested in hurting the cat, but thoroughly enjoyed making it swing.

Cheri looked at me and we started laughing. Heidi obviously thought that was fun and did it several more times. She never hurt the cat, but it must have wondered what was going on. Finally, we thought enough is enough and carefully lifted the cat to the hole in the window and let it escape. That cat never tried to get into the garage after that. Heidi was not happy that we spoiled her fun and could not understand why we were laughing.

Just to be sure this would not happen again, we went out and bought a replacement pane of glass to fix the hole. Heidi watched closely as we fixed the window and wondered what all the fuss was about.

Our biggest regret was not having a camera with us at the time. Who knows? We might have won a prize on America’s Funniest Videos. However, we were laughing so hard we probably would not have been able to take a picture or video anyway. It just was one more of our unforgettable experiences from our life on our acreage.

David Hoye lives in Everly with his wife, Cheri. He is a published writer with several different titles for sale on Amazon and WestBow Press.