Not a Good Week for the Dog

This is Miles. He showed up just a bit over 3 years ago back when the only cats on the place were Sasha birdbane and the scraggly old barn cat, no dogs at all. Just like Sasha you could count every bone in his thin body when he showed up. Unlike Sasha the cat however this guy was chipped so we found out how old he was and where he had originated.

He started out as a new puppy at a trailer court about 8 miles away. The vet wouldn't tell me the original owners name just an address but when I went by there the place was empty. We knew his name was Miles because it was written on his collar and the vet did confirm it from their records.

Add one more pathetic life form to the Small-Hold menagerie.

As you can see he has put on weight and I can't really complain about him at all. At first he had a bad habit of tearing the barn apart looking for anything edible he could find, from cat food to horse treats. He also had an issue with the garbage can and would run like the wind if I walked outside with a flashlight.

We have on occasion let him come inside during bad weather or when the neighbor's dogs show up during feeding time but it doesn't take long before he begins to have some kind of nervous break down and starts whining at the door to get back out. We got him a big igloo type dog house and fill it with hay in a stall all his own but he only uses it during Winter. Usually he sleeps under the porch.

Last Winter one of the stray cats shared his igloo with him until she had her kittens in there. At which point Miles was evicted.

These days Miles thinks he has a pretty good life. He has stopped ransacking the barn every night. He doesn't chase the cats or run off on over night wanderings any longer. He has friends that visit but doesn't have to be second or lower dog in the pack anymore and he made him a cozy little spot under the wood furnace where he can keep an eye on his domain and bark whenever something comes around.

Everything was perfect until this week.

One of the nearby neighbors has a new dog. Slightly smaller than Miles but a good playmate that comes and visits two or three times a day. The problem is this particular dog has the same defensive mechanism that Miles thought he was the king of. Whenever the situation gets a bit too serious they take off running as fast as they can in huge circles. Miles would do this all the time as he was faster than any protagonist. Except now that he has put on weight this new dog has him beat in the speed department.

Miles didn't really like that.

Then the other day he went with me to check the pond and the back fences. On our way back through the horse pasture the biggest mare who thinks she is in charge pulled a stealth maneuver on Miles and damned near killed him right in front of me. He was sniffing the ground and not paying any attention and she snuck up on him. Got him pretty solid on the back of the head and the rump area with her front hooves. Luckily he was close to the fence and got under it while I was screaming at the horse.

Miles was stiff the next day but no blood or broken bones.

Yesterday I went to check the electric fence and once again Miles came with me. In the light rain he walked under the fence and got a very light shock to his back. Barely enough to notice really so he sniffed the fence to see what was going on and caught a sap right on the end of his nose.

Miles yelped more from the fence shock than he did from the horse trampling him.

I think he thought I had shot him for a minute there. He finally ran off down the road and was gone for over an hour. I haven't seen him leave the farm in over a year. When he came back he gave me a wide circle for the rest of the afternoon until I bribed him with lunch meat.

Poor Dog. I hope his week improves.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!