Big Nose Harry nets treats, drops the rodent

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I have decided to give Harry the Silver Labrador a new nickname.

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I tried Harry the Horrible, but he isn’t. Handsome Harry, but that’s too arrogant.

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So, its ‘Big Nose’ Harry because, like a cat that has to explore anything new brought into the house, so does Harry.

But his latest escapade was not indoors, but outdoors.

I was sitting at the computer in the office room, writing something or other (it was last week but I can’t remember what it was about) and comfortably drinking a coffee. I was relaxed.

Then the shouting started.

“When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

“I sprang from the computer to see what was the matter.”

“Barry! Barry!! (louder)! Barry (top of the voice and insistent!!!)

It was Mary Lou, and she was in the back yard.

The volume of Lou’s voice led me to believe something was seriously wrong, so I high-tailed to the back deck.

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There was Lou pointing to the reason for her shouting.

Big Nose Harry stood on the knoll of the lawn, a black bushy jerky-actioned tail protruding from one side of his mouth, a black head from the other side, and in between in Harry’s mouth was A SQUIRREL.

The rodent was alive because the experts say “Labrador Retrievers were selectively bred to have a soft mouth, a genetic and learned trait that enables them to carry game birds, such as ducks, without puncturing or damaging them. This time it was a squirrel.

The rodent was not enjoying himself but at least, as Dr. Frankenstein exclaimed, “It’s alive!”

Big Nose remained stationary, I got some treats and managed to grab the doggy collar.

Harry dropped the squirrel, but the rodent moved very slowly, likely in a state of shock.

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Harry dragged me to the ground and I let him go rather than have my arm pulled from its socket. This squirrel rescue obviously would need a bigger treat for Big Nose.

Lou got a biggie and the dog gobbled it down releasing the squirrel. I picked it up by the tail and dropped it on the other side of the fence, safe from the dog.

It kind of shook itself a few times, looked around, staggered a bit, then took off up a tree, never realizing how close it had come to its meeting the squirrel god.

I was happy, Lou was too. Big Nose was happy because he had scored some treats.

But we could not figure how Harry captured the squirrel in the first place. He, like most dogs, repeatedly chased the rodents but had never scored a kidnapping.

Our late Quinte the Jack Russell Terrorist would have made short work of said squirrel, but she never bagged one, although the Terrorist did manage to catch and kill a skunk.

At least we could bathe her and apply the skunk shampoo in the tub, since she was only 13 lbs.

But Big Nose is a whole lot bigger at 85 lbs and hates water, so the shampooing would be a much tougher kettle of fish. And no wash was necessary due to the squirrel, thank goodness.

And so ends another saga in the family of Mary, Barry and Big Nose Harry.

barry.ellsworth@sympatico.ca

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