Almost A Tragedy

I have a scary story to tell you, but if you read this you have to promise not to tell Joe.

I've been doing a very good job taking care of Ellie while Joe is in Florida. I don't hold her and carry her around as much as Joe, and I admit I don't watch her as closely as Joe when she is outside but none the less she is pampered compared to most dogs. Joe is coming home tomorrow so it's only a matter of hours before Joe and Ellie are reunited and I can relax a little. You see, I'm still convinced that if anything ever happened to Ellie that was my fault, I would be kicked to the curb.

With that in mind, you will understand why the events of this evening could have changed the entire course of my marriage.

I had Ellie dressed in a sweater to help keep the chill off while her and I were out in the yard. I went to the barn to see if I had another squirrel in my live trap (the count is up to 4). Ellie followed me into the barn which kind of surprised me because the chickens were in there too. She was sniffing around while the chickens were doing their thing. I even thought that it was good that Ellie and the chickens could finally be in the same area without an incident. When I first got the chickens Ellie tried to take a stand and show them who was boss. The chickens however had a different idea and chased Ellie until she was a quivering ball of fur. Ever since then Ellie kept her distance.....until today.

So, Ellie and the chickens are close to each other but not interacting at all. I make the mistake of talking to Ellie which got her a little excited. I said: "You're not gonna get the chickens are you?" I think she heard "get the chickens" and she made a little attempt at intimidation by doing a little lunge toward one of them and letting out a little growl. Now, if Bear (who weights 45 lbs.) lunges at the chickens, they run. When Ellie (who weighs 5 lbs) lunges at the chickens, they attack. In a split second, the chicken that Ellie lunged at ran away a few steps then turned around and jumped on top of Ellie who by this time had rolled over on her back in submission. The chicken is on top of Ellie with it's wings flapping and squawking. It reminded me of the Mutual Of Omaha Wild Kingdom episodes where they showed huge birds grabbing their prey from the ground and taking off. By the time I got to Ellie, the rest of the chickens were ganging up on her and jumping on top of her as well. I'm screaming: "DON"T KILL HER!!!!!!" I grab Ellie; who is now in a tight little ball, from the midst of the chicken frenzy. Surprisingly she isn't shaking and seems actually calm. She's probably in shock.

I think the whole event looked worse than it really was, so I didn't feel so bad when I started to laugh uncontrollably. I was laughing out of relief that she was ok and that I wouldn't have to find another place to live. She doesn't have a scratch on her. I'm pretty sure the sweater saved her from claw marks. Joe never need know of the events of today. It would only hurt him. Remember you promised to keep this a secret. Some things are just better left unsaid.