War Against Dandelions

Much like many domesticated animals, outside is a wonderland. Especially for the doggies! The backyard being their personal playground. The happy dance you receive when you grab the leash is almost always accompanied by a song of excitement. Walks are heaven and car rides are a roller-coaster on the way to their amusement park.

My puppy, Sierrah, is now 9 years young. Even with grey hair lining her mouth, she still has the soul of a 6-month-old. Still curious of anything and everything. Home is her sanctuary where she is comfortable and relaxed. Do not be fooled though, you knock on our door or make to much noise passing the front of the house and she turns into a guard dog trained for protection like it is her souls only purpose. Outside she releases her inner wild nature. She becomes the explorer she was born to be.

We have a family of bunnies in our back yard and she races them to the back fence every, and I mean every time, we let her out the back door. She will sit at the fence and wait for them to return and play but they never do. She loves other animals. A bird was wounded next to a tree lining our yard and she hopped around it waiting for my daughter to investigate. Whining when she picked it up out of her sight and placed it in the tree it fell from, she sat there until we no longer noticed its presence.

Sierrah is a detective. Sniffing this, pouncing to that. She follows the scent trail left by what passed through prior to her. Pulling me here or my daughter there. Sierrah is a lover of all things the world has to offer her. She absolutely loves going to watch her sister, my daughter, play sports. It always amazes me that she knows exactly which person on the field is her sister. Following her movements during every game. Watching her head move left to right, standing up when she sees her sister running, ready to join the chase and settling when her partner in crime is idle on the field.

That day, the day of the picture, my daughter was playing softball. She had a double header and it was getting quite warm out. Sierrah began getting bored and started to find other things to keep her mind occupied. The yellow dandelions gained her attention. Sniffing around the ones that surrounded us. When she licked one, she looked at it bewildered. Tilting her head to the side confused like she was expecting it to taste a specific way. Like she was being tricked. Eyebrows clenched and all. I held back my laughter because I knew if I giggled, she would get distracted from her investigation. She waited a moment and lightly nibbled the yellow pedals. Sierrah did not enjoy how that tasted. Next move was to roll in it.

Being that there were many ‘wish dandelions’ mixed within the fresh bloomed ones, Sierrah released them all around her. Many sneezes followed. Now I was laughing and she was not amused. After her attack, she looked at me annoyed that I did nothing to assist, which made me laugh harder. Vexed, she made the decision to lick one of the ‘wish dandelions.’ Mistake! She drank a lot of water to down that taste.

Sierrah now had a vendetta against the wishes. She glared at one for a moment or 2 before her next move, which was to intimidate it. A quick snarl gave her no result until the wind force the seeded flower to move towards her. She took this as an act of war. “Bite it,” her subconscious suggested. How quickly she remembered that they taste awful.

In need for revenge, Sierrah searched for a fellow wish soldier. She gave this one an exasperated exhale pushing it away from her nose. When it sprung back towards her, she did not move quick enough. Landing on her little wet nose, she was startled and inhaled faster than she should have, forcing pieces of the wish into her nostrils. Her life flashed before her eyes. She whipped her head left and right, sneezing and rubbing her nose with her paws. It took a minute before Sierrah could finally breathe properly.

She looked to me stressed. “You okay?” I inquired. I received a few blinks, an exasperated breath followed by a defeated look.

Sierrah laid her head on the ground next to me. I comforted her with a few rubs on her head. She lifted her head and looked to another solider then back to me. “You done?” I asked her. She answered with a sigh and rested her head back on the ground. Ears back and accepting her loss, she thought off into nothingness.

Some war pictures make better for a candid moment than others. That moment was perfect. Sierrah did not even notice my camera until I snapped about 5 pictures. When she realized what I was up to, she turned her head in disgusts. Like how dare I take a picture of her in this stressful moment. Unacceptable! She ignored me until I put my camera away. If you have never experienced a dog rolling their eyes at you, let me tell you it is one of the funniest things ever. I mean the dog-o does not find it amusing but their judgements never halt our enjoyment.

Within every in-house animal, there is an inner need for their wild side to surface. To be released in this wild world of ours. To experience the true nature of animal instinct. Domestication can only mute that inner voice. It is always there and always ready to be freed, even if it is only temporary.

Have Fun, Stay Safe and Happy Reading!!!