>>>James was short and light enough at the time that this meant the dog would knock him over, so he was on his back with the dog standing over him and slobbering all over his face. :-) <<
That could be overwhelming.<<<
Well, his attitude was more "[splutter]Get *off* you big lummox!"
The same dog would bark up a storm at a stranger. Once he was barking at a friend of mine while we were standing next to the fence between the front and back yards.
Dog was about a dozen feet away. I finally persuaded my friend to climb over the fence with me. at which point the dog backed off another dozen feet.
My friend took *one* step step away from the fence and the dog ran away around the corner of the house.
He was a big coward, but that made him a great watchdog.
Oh yeah, the cat who rode around on the dog? he lived into his 20s and was mostly an outdoor cat. He was allowed into the house, but he spent most of his time outdoors. Fortunately, since our house was at the top of a long, fairly steep slope (the edge of a 500 foot tall sandbar from the Missoula Floods at the end of the last ice age) you could wander several miles without having to cross a street.
He *did* cross streets but was smart enough to avoid traffic. He'd sometimes disappear for days at a time and we knew of at least three other places that would feed him if he showed up.
Managing to live as long as he did was quite an accomplishment.
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dancing_serpent
Re: I love it!
Date: 2017-05-10 11:37 am (UTC)That could be overwhelming.<<<
Well, his attitude was more "[splutter]Get *off* you big lummox!"
The same dog would bark up a storm at a stranger. Once he was barking at a friend of mine while we were standing next to the fence between the front and back yards.
Dog was about a dozen feet away. I finally persuaded my friend to climb over the fence with me. at which point the dog backed off another dozen feet.
My friend took *one* step step away from the fence and the dog ran away around the corner of the house.
He was a big coward, but that made him a great watchdog.
Oh yeah, the cat who rode around on the dog? he lived into his 20s and was mostly an outdoor cat. He was allowed into the house, but he spent most of his time outdoors. Fortunately, since our house was at the top of a long, fairly steep slope (the edge of a 500 foot tall sandbar from the Missoula Floods at the end of the last ice age) you could wander several miles without having to cross a street.
He *did* cross streets but was smart enough to avoid traffic. He'd sometimes disappear for days at a time and we knew of at least three other places that would feed him if he showed up.
Managing to live as long as he did was quite an accomplishment.