About A Dog (Part 3)

So we did it. We adopted a dog. A dog which would stay outside, like dogs do. The shelter, not knowing of course what breed she was, told me that they believed that Sydney, her new name, maybe her first and only name, was an Australian Shepherd mix, thus the moniker, Sydney. Yes, aren't I imaginative? We, at the time, didn't have a computer, I didn't even have a clue how to use a computer, so there wasn't this wealth of readily available information at my fingertips to see how accurate this assumption was. I will admit that her coloring did have that Australian Shepherd look.

My wife, in her infinite wisdom, thought that having a kitten, again, readily available from irresponsible owners, would be a good idea also, so we had a kitten to go along with our approximate six month old puppy. Things started out well, or as well as I reasonably expected. A simple, chicken wire enclosure was hastily constructed to contain the dog at night and while we were away, and other than the whining at night, things went fairly well, with the few expected escapes. Sadly, the kitten didn't fare very well. Sydney from the beginning treated the cat much like a play toy, and one Sunday morning while my wife and the kids were at church, I found the play had gotten a bit too rough, and the poor kitten had suffered an early demise. The body was quickly removed, before everyone returned home, and the story of the runaway kitten was born.

When Sydney was first seen by her veterinarian, the vet. commented that she believed that Sydney was predominately a Whippet, and as I was grudgingly dragged into the computer age, this seemed likely to me also, not just because of appearance, but later comparison of know behavior. Whippet's, by the way, are sight hounds which were bred to catch small prey, so the kitten incident was something to be expected, had we been more aware. Many other small animals have suffered similar fates in our yard over the years, one of the most amazing, a rabbit which was chased down on a fresh two foot snowfall. Yes, Whippet indeed.
(Continued)