My dogs cornered a copperhead snake last night. The slithery booger stretched himself out against the edge of our patio and ended up wishing he'd picked a more favorable location to doze. Rigby and Penny, our Lab mixes (and snake hunters extraordinaire) double teamed the slithery guy. Rigby stood at his head and Penny at his tail. They trapped him.
I'd love to say they wrestled him into submission with brute force, or tied him into square knots with their teeth. Either sounds better than the truth, which is: they barked him to death.
Okay, that isn't literally true. Let's say they barked him into supreme annoyance. He become perturbed that his nap was disturbed by two furry beasties who wouldn't stop screaming at him. By the time my hubby investigated the incessant woof-woofing the snake was striking out with mean intent. At my husband's command the dogs reluctantly left their prey and trotted into the house, leaving my manly man to dispose of the poisonous reptile. Just like the dogs, he declined to wrestle the snake into submission or tie it into square knots with his teeth. Drat. That would have been so cool.
The pups received an extra treat for keeping our little world safe from big, poisonous snakes. If that bad boy had managed to sink his fangs into either pooch that would have been the end of them. A youngster in a nearby neighborhood spent weeks in the hospital last year, courtesy of a copperhead, so we don't take such things lightly.
With a large creek flowing at the back of our property we often see critters in the yard, most often of the toad and turtle variety. This was the first creature capable of causing real harm. Kudos to my pooches for corralling the thing and alerting us to its presence. They more than earned their beloved rawhide treats.
Snakes beware. Rigby and Penny live here. They have a "woof!" and they know how to use it.
Til next time -
Lisa
