SQUIRREL!

Got an email from Matt's mom about an incident that occurred yesterday involving a certain fuzzy little creature and our doggie, Bullitt. I asked her permission to copy and paste her email, and she agreed. I hope you all get as big a kick out of it as Matt and I did. Next post will have pictures from when we punted yesterday, and then tomorrow I'll try and get some pictures up of our day trip to Ely.

Disclaimer: For those of you who have met Bullitt, you know he is a very lovable, good-natured, man's-best-friend kind of black lab. His attention span is about 5 seconds, and he is not disciplined enough to be a hunting dog...so we have always wondered what would happen if he actually had the chance to catch something besides a tennis ball or a rawhide bone. Now we know.

(Donna's email:) "Bullitt was our hero tonight. I came home from work and found that everything that was on the windowsill over the sink was on the counter or in the sink. I thought someone had tried to break in, but nothing was missing. Then I found what looked like mouse droppings on the counter, so I thought that a rat//mouse had done it. I let Bullitt out of his crate and after he went out, he came in to get a drink and immediately started sniffing and whining and staring at the counter top. Then he tried to jump on the counter top. I looked, and saw that squeezed between the blender and the crock pot was something with fur. So I proceeded to freak out, call dad, and wait for him to get home while sitting on the couch with my feet off the floor, all the while staring at the counter to make sure it didn't go anywhere. I insisted Bullitt stay with me in the kitchen so that if said animal decided to come down off the counter, he would protect me. He obliged and continued to pace, whine and occasionally put his paws on the kitchen counter. When dad got home, I went outside with the dog. I really didn't want to witness the carnage. After about 10 minutes outside listening to various banging, crashing, clanging and obviously items being flung to the floor---grandma came to the back door(yes, grandma stayed in there the whole time, while I cowered outside with my fingers in my ears) and said---"It's a squirrel." I came back in with Bullitt. By now the squirrel was cornered in the bathroom, but he soon abandoned that for a spot under (YES UNDER) the big bookcase. Bullitt was relentless--pawing at the carpet, barking, trying to squeeze behind it. We had to TIP the bookcase foward, Bullitt flushed him out and chased him through the living room and kitchen. Every time we couldn't find him, Bullitt could, and would whine and paw at the carpet wherever the squirrel was hiding. He finally caught him, shook him like one of his chew toys and carried him outside. We had to chase and yell at him but he dropped it and Dad threw the squirrel over the fence. Then Bullitt came in, received much praise and appreciation and a half a slice of cheese. :) He continued to see if he could sniff out any other intruders, but could find none. We skipped our walk tonight but he didn't seem to mind. He's still sniffing the bookcase and under the couch and under the loveseat and chair. Just thought I'd let you know that he protected his family from the evil burglar squirrel. You should be very proud."

I must say that I am a huge squirrel lover. I like their fluffy little tails and how hilarious they are when they bury an acorn. However, I love my puppy more. I'm sad he killed one cute little critter, but I'm more sad that I wasn't there to witness this whole thing go down. Probably could have been filmed and sent to America's Funniest home videos. Matt is gushing with pride, of course, at how manly his dog is. He has already promised to get Bullitt the biggest rawhide bone available when we get back home.