Through the eyes of the animals

Buster the naughty beagle sometimes comes to stay at my house when his people go out of town. This is because Buster, although as adorable as a newborn chick, can be quite naughty. He doesn't intend to be naughty, he is only acting instinctively in the way of all Beagles, and that is with intense curiosity. So curious as to forget any semblance of obedience. That being said, his propensity to take unscheduled walkabouts and to eat food not intended for dog consumption has forever condemned him to being confined to the Shaw home for lovable but sometimes naughty dogs, cats, and various other varieties of beasts. However, sometimes it can be quite difficult for poor Buster. Since his last visit here we have acquired a new permanent resident. She is an adorable, fluffy little overgrown lint ball that bears a striking resemblance to an Ewok. Her name is Daisy. She and Buster had not yet had the pleasure of enjoying one another's company. Daisy tends to be a bit suspicious of any animal that appears that she has never seen before. Her response is generally to bark, incessantly, until she has decided the poor beast has learned its lesson. Whatever that might be. So, the day that Buster arrived was quite a shock, for both of them. As soon as he came in the door she started barking and ran into the bedroom and hid under the bed. Buster wasn't sure what was going on. For the rest of the day every time Buster moved she would go off on a barking tirade. Then Lewis, Katie's miniature Dachshund came to visit, because Katie has it in her head that Lewis is a child under the age of 13 and cannot be left home alone for even a short period of time. Little does she know that when she's gone all he does is sleep and roll around on the carpet. He doesn't play with matches or try to cook on an open flame and he's not likely to open the door to strangers or make prank phone calls. But, just the same, he also must come to the Shaw dog hotel rather than stay home alone. So, Lewis, who has met Buster before, just ran in the door and right up to Buster and proceeded with the sniffing and licking of two old dog friends. Daisy sat in the corner and watched this little display of wagging tails and decided that if Lewis was okay with Buster, than she must be missing something. She decided to stop barking at him for a few minutes and now instead she would follow him every where he went sniffing him. I'm not sure which irritated Buster more, the constant barking or the endless sniffing. As if dealing with Daisy was not bad enough, there were these strange, two legged, feather bearing, clucking things standing in front of the dog door blocking him from going out. He waited and stared at me and then looked at the dog door until I finally realized I was going to have to let him out and chase away the vicious chickens if he was going to have any hope of doing his business. I rode shotgun for him and shooed the feathered monstrosities off the porch so that Buster could bolt for the grass. I went about my daily chores and after quite some time realized I hadn't seen Buster for awhile. I walked to the door and glanced out the window and there was poor Buster staring longingly at the window as the chickens sat happily perched on the door mat in front of the dog door. About that time Daisy came running up the stairs, across the porch and bolted right through the dog door knocking chickens out of the way like bowling pins. I think she scored a strike. Buster saw his opening and burst through the dog door before the chickens had time to re-set themselves. I don't know if Daisy sensed Buster's sudden adoration of her for her incredible bravery, or if she just got bored with barking at him every time he moved, but from then on they seemed to accept each other and settled down on the big living room rug for the first of their daily naps.