Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Some of the more friendly goats had followed her up the hill and they were ranging out ahead. Hopefully they wouldn’t find the spot and get out again before she could fix it . . . and then she saw it - a wallowed out place under the fence. Some hunter’s dog had probably dug it out. Dog? At that moment one of the goats darted by her, bleating in terror. She swung around to see what had frightened the goat and the hair lifted on the back of her neck. Four dogs were trotting across the low bluff on the other side of the fence. The lead dog was the Chow she had recognized the night the dogs attacked Brutus. And then Brutus was at her side, snarling and trying to push her away. Her one thought was to plug the hole so the dogs couldn’t get through. She searched around and found a large rock. Grabbing the edge of it, she tugged it toward the hole. It got hung up on a stump and she had to yank from another direction to dislodge it. She glanced up at the dogs. She wasn’t going to make it.

“Come on, Brutus!” she yelled as she headed for the barn.

But the proximity of the snarls behind told her she wasn’t going to make it to the barn, either. She visually selected a tree ahead that looked easy to climb. Brutus was on his own. And then she saw the red dog running through the trees. Obviously he had already been inside the fence when she found the hole. Running from it was probably the worst thing she could do, but panic had set in and her legs were under control of her mind. She screamed, racing for the tree and knowing she didn’t have a chance of outrunning the dog. Suddenly Brutus was at her side again, lunging to meet the red dog.

It took her a moment to separate the pounding of her heart from the sound of hooves striking earth. Ed was running beside her, and then a strong arm was plucking her from the ground. Ed plunged to a stop and Alex pulled her up into the saddle with him. He jerked a rifle from its scabbard and swung it around with one arm, firing it into the air.

The sound echoed off the bluffs and the dogs retreated. Brutus started after them, snarling and barking his disgust.