A few minutes after I arrived home this afternoon, there was a commotion on my back patio. While the dog that lives here will bark at anything, this time it sounded as if someone was actually back there. I also heard what sounded like stomping around on the deck, and decided to investigate. I found the dog running around like a lunatic, but with a good reason. There is a small bird that has trapped itself onto my screened-in patio. We typically leave a screen door open to the patio so that the dog has access to both the backyard and shelter as necessary. This unlucky bird found itself trapped with a beagle chasing him back and forth around the porch. After dragging the dog inside, I then set to guide the bird out of the patio. Of course by now, the cat has arrived on scene and has taken up the chase in order to capture the bird. After a few unsuccessful tries, I manage to get the bird out the side door and return him to freedom. Heading back inside, I again dragged the dog back outside to a bird-free patio.
That bird got lucky. Had I not been home at the time, the dynamic duo of the dog and the cat would have worn down the stamina of the bird to the point of exhaustion, and then set upon it, like two scavengers in the wild. It is no secret that our cat is a serial killer. Anything she can get her claws into will meet its ultimate fate. From my assumption, once she disables the creature, she shares the spoils with the dog. I’ve been fortunate to find any manner of remains of creatures, whether they be feathered or furry, in the area surrounding the house. Once we originally discovered that the cat had been thinning out the population of birds in the area, the cat received a collar with a bell on it. Unfortunately, she’s figured out how to work around that and return to her life of killing. I guess that’s the reason that the damn cat literally sleeps all day, since her hunting must take a lot of energy.