Post #226

Poppy and the deer

7th February 2004, late afternoon | Comments (12)

Six photos from two recent walks: the first was a quick foray into some (slightly) snowy woods with my friend Richard, and the second was one of my (supposedly) daily strolls with the dog.

On the second walk I saw quite a lot of deer, though they always managed to stay at least one field ahead of us. Poppy spent most of her time trying to eat sticks, sniffing sheep poo and jumping in and out of every briar patch she could find, but on the final occasion that we crossed paths with the deer she picked up their scent and *VOOOM*, she was off.

There was much blowing of the dog whistle and yelling POPPYYYYYYY…. HERE GIRL! *WHISTLE* COMMMME ONNN!… POP POP POP POP POP POP-POPPYYYYYYY! *WHISTLE*… ARGH! Bloody animal!! as the little devil flew through hedges, over fields and past streams, ears flat along her head, tongue hanging out, in pursuit of a dozen large animals she had no hope of catching, never mind bringing to ground.

Unfortunately, once she has her “I Am A Wolf” head on there’s not a lot you can do to stop her. Shouting and whistling are the order of the day, so that when reason finally overtakes her and she remembers she’s not a 150lbs of sleek, deadly, lupine fury, she can turn back and find you without getting too upset.

Silly animal.

Snow on a pine branch
Snow on a pine branch
Deer running across the fields
Four photos of Poppy running around
A horse
A horse

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Comments (12)

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  1. Rahul:

    Alright man, I'm officially jealous of where you live.

    Posted 6 minutes after the fact
  2. Sian:

    Poppy appears to be very happy though!

    Posted 7 minutes after the fact
  3. DarkBlue:

    Oh boy, that brings back memories. When I was a kid we had a beagle (and regularly conducted our own missions to Mars). Beagles are great dogs, but they need frequent exercise, so I had to walk her twice a day (sometimes thrice if I was home at lunchtime).

    Now Beauty, for that was her name, was a wonderful dog. She was well behaved, affectionate and obedient... when curled at your feet in front of the fire.

    Take her outside however, and she metamorphosed into an uncontrollable mutt who would not come to heal regardless of how much I begged, pleaded and/or wept.

    When she got the scent of something, she was off. Eventually I learned to just leave her to it - return home and wait for her. She would eventually show up, often bloody, and usually with a "gift".

    Those were the days. Thanks for the memories Dunstan.

    Posted 1 hour, 26 minutes after the fact
  4. Chris Vincent:

    Is Poppy a Jack Russell? I have two of them myself, and they can be very obnoxious. Great pets though.

    Posted 3 hours, 35 minutes after the fact
    Inspired: ↓ Margaret, ↓ Sian, ↓ Dunstan
  5. Margaret:

    Obnoxious? I have a Jack Russell, and she's very chill. She never barks. Well, only at cats and birds who enroach on her territory. :) She has to protect her people, after all.

    Posted 5 hours, 42 minutes after the fact
    Inspired by: ↑ Chris Vincent
    Inspired: ↓ Chris Vincent, ↓ Sian, ↓ Dunstan
  6. Chris Vincent:

    Mine are very much not chill. Now and then, they'll lay down and hang out, but normally they're tearing across the house for no particular reason. Just to run. They have a good time doing it, too. With all that energy, I wouldn't be able to have those dogs without a well-sized yard for them.

    Posted 6 hours, 53 minutes after the fact
    Inspired by: ↑ Margaret
    Inspired: ↓ Sian, ↓ Dunstan
  7. Sian:

    Poppy is a Jack Russell. It's in their nature to be so sprightly and full of energy. My next door neighbour had a Jack Russell called Heidi and she was a real character, inquisitive, full of energy and a soppy.

    Posted 19 hours, 8 minutes after the fact
    Inspired by: ↑ Chris Vincent, ↑ Margaret, ↑ Chris Vincent
  8. Chris Neale:

    do dogs pick up 'sents' or scents ?

    Posted 20 hours, 42 minutes after the fact
    Inspired: ↓ Dunstan
  9. Dunstan:

    Good point, Chris - it's 'scents' :o)

    Posted 22 hours, 28 minutes after the fact
    Inspired by: ↑ Chris Neale
  10. Dunstan:

    Poppy is a JR, yes, and she's an utter lunatic.

    She's very well behaved with children, nice and calm, but with anyone, or anything else, she's completely bonkarooney :o)

    Posted 22 hours, 30 minutes after the fact
    Inspired by: ↑ Chris Vincent, ↑ Margaret, ↑ Chris Vincent
  11. Scott Johnson:

    Poppy is cute and looks like a great friend to have around. :)

    Posted 2 days, 14 hours after the fact
  12. Tim Macalpine:

    Hey Dunstan,

    I gotta tell you... I live right smack dab in the middle of the city. The only time I've been around animals like dear is when I visited my grandmother about 15 years ago.

    Seriously... to you, the place in the pictures at the top of this page may seem like the ordinary everyday thing. To me... it looks like paradise.

    Even IF Poppy won't obey you. ;-)

    Tim

    Posted 3 months after the fact

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