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Bambi Unbothered

Several times my little poodle has made a bad situation worse by not barking when he was in danger, so when I heard him bark outside my trailer today, I was both relieved and alarmed. Sure enough, it was the deer that likes to munch on the suckers of a dead stump on the Johnsons' driveway. She has two half-grown offspring who travel with her.

Since the little poodle can barely see, his interaction with mama Bambi was probably accidental. I charged out of the trailer and saw Mama "facing off" with the little poodle. She wasn't particularly afraid of me.

Actually, I think it's in the interests of any wildlife to stay frightened of Man; otherwise, they will hang around too much and eventually get run over by a car. So I thought I was doing the deer a favor by sending my 40 pound Australian kelpie, Coffee Girl, to chase the threesome out of the yard.

But mama deer was completely fearless. She faced Coffee Girl head on, and wouldn't yield an inch. Coffee Girl actually got underneath mama deer, where she could have been kicked and injured. You could tell that Coffee Girl was confused, if not positively insulted, by this impudent cervine's unwillingness to act, uhh, subservient.

But the dogs and the deer ended the encounter with no injuries. Now please, let no Bambi-lovers tell me that I was being cruel. Coffee Girl is not the threat that a car is.

Comments

Bob said…
It's rutting season here in PA. Today my dog and me were on a ride when I saw a deer in the bushes. Not sure if She saw it or just smelled it but She sure wanted out to get it. Barking & carrying on. Maybe your poodle smelled the deer too.
Ed said…
I enjoy reading your blog for many reasons. Maybe not at the top of the list but you force me to increase my vocabulary, at least temporarily, at least once a month.

Thank you for 'cervine' in the posting of today.
Brian said…
Funniest thing I've ever seen was a coyote that blundered into an Antelope doe. He ran across the road in front of my truck and ducked through the tall grass on the other side, and almost ran straight into her. Made her mad too by God! That poor wiley had to run better'n a quarter mile ziggin' and zaggin' tryin' as hard as he could to shake that Doe, who seemed to have the singular intention of doin' a tap dance on his head! :) Deer (or antelope) aren't the helpless "Bambies" Ol' Walt has portrayed 'em to be.;)
Brian, antelopes are rather small. I'm surprised that she launched a serious counterattack.

Ed, as always, I'm your humble and obedient CERVant.

Bob, as visual animals we all have trouble imagining how the world "looks" to a nose-oriented animal like a dog or bear.