Walk Softly and Carry a Big Stick

(originally written 7-18-2008)

This could almost be the Huskies' motto, minus the "walk softly" part, of course. It's more like, "Run like your furry tail is on fire and carry a big stick" for them! And the bigger the stick, the better. In fact, I have spied the occasional Husky with a stick longer than he is! That is a big stick. One day, I drove into my mother's driveway, and when I glanced over into her back yard, I spied Demon running like the wind, Jade close behind him, a stick nearly as long as the driveway itself clutched in his grinning Siberian mouth.

Unlike a Lab or other retriever type breed, your average Husky will not run after a stick and return it to you for you to throw again. Huskies have an entirely different agenda when it comes to their toys, sticks included. I have yet to figure out exactly what that agenda is, and I suspect that no other human out there has figured it, either. Huskies live and behave according to a different set of rules than most dogs.

Dougal, the Great White Fuzzy Butt, collected a whole stack of sticks from our back yard. We used to have several pine trees, most of which are gone now, but there are remains. One day, we noticed that there was a pile of sticks gathered in one spot. Apparently, Dougal collected them from around the yard and placed them all in one general area. We're not sure if he was trying to build a log cabin with them, collect them for fire wood, or put all of his "toys" in one stack away from the other dogs. With Dougal, you never know.

Not too long ago, Xena made the move from sticks to snakes. Okay, to be fair, the snake DID encroach upon her territory. It seems that a black snake decided to make a visit to her kennel one day. I'm not sure if it was trying to stage a repeat of the Garden of Eden story and tempt Xena to fall from grace or if it was simply looking for some water, considering that we have been living in extremely dry conditions lately, but it soon learned that it picked the wrong dog. Xena's practice with sticks had trained her well. She picked that snake up and was whipping it around like Indiana Jones works his whip. I think that perhaps she's been sneaking up to my mom's window and watching movies when nobody suspects, and she has picked up a few tricks. At any rate, the snake didn't stand a chance. Sticks are sturdier. I believe it is now out on the Reptile Rumor Mill that Xena's kennel is a Stay Away Zone for all cold-blooded, apodal types.

So, the snakes are gone, but the sticks will always be there!