Earlier this week, I was inside working in the office when Ayla started barking. We’re trying to make sure that she doesn’t develop any boundary protection issues like some of the other dogs in the neighborhood so I went to inspect if there was a reason for the barking or if she’d taken a disliking to someone who was passing by. While we were working in the courtyard this past weekend, Ayla started barking at two women who passed by on the other side of the street and were talking loudly. Apparently she didn’t think their conversation was amusing but we always find her protective instincts very interesting.
So, back to the initial story, Ayla was barking and I went to inspect. When I got outside I saw that she was staring at the gate and the street…and the roof of the house across the street from us. On top of the roof was a black cat and she seemed to be taunting the dog. So I did my best to reassure her that the cat was not invading, that she didn’t need to bark at it and that life should now return to normal…which it mostly did.
But this morning we had another invasion and this time it was much closer. When Ayla started barking this morning she was standing outside the kitchen and looking back towards the barn. I immediately thought of the black cat again and wondered how in the world he’d managed to get on the roof of any of our buildings. But what I found was instead a bird. It was hard to tell but I would say that it was a dove and it was not leaving until it was ready.
As you can see, it was sitting on the edge of the barn and I’m not even sure why she happened to notice it. Maybe she saw it in flight before it landed there.
After I went outside and talked to her, she eventually stopped barking at it…but continued to keep a close watch lest it decided to move further into her territory. If she will be this vigilant about protecting us from people we will be very safe…
