All Bark, No Bite
Tue, Feb 17, 2009
The CPA and I had a late night on Sunday. Â Since it was the eve of a holiday and we both had Monday off from work, we decided to stay up late since we were going to sleep in to the ripe old hour of 6:30. Â Things proceeded as planned. Â We turned off the lights around midnight and were fast asleep at 12:15.
45 minutes later, I sat straight up in bed, my heart pounding in my chest. Â Oscar, who had been sleeping in his crate near the bedroom door, was barking furiously. Â The hair on the back of my arms began to stand on end. Â The CPA slowly stirred. Â He wasn’t quite as alarmed as I was. Â ”Maybe he just had a bad dream?” he suggested. Â I wasn’t buying it.Â
Oscar continued to bark with no end in sight. Â If it had been any other dog, I wouldn’t have worried. Â But our sweet Oscar just doesn’t bark. Â He may give a low yelp when someone comes to the front door, just to make sure we know. Â And he sometimes barks when we’re rolling around and wrestling with him on the floor, but it’s all in fun. Â Other than that, he’s a remarkably quiet dog. Â Which is why I was so unsettled by his late-night outburst.
When it was clear that our suddenly vocal pup wasn’t going to stop, we got out of bed and threw on our clothes. Â The CPA opened Oscar’s crate and he charged into the living room and headed straight for the front door, barking the entire way. Â At this point, I was convinced that we would find someone standing in our front room to greet us.
We crept around the corner, turning on the lights as we went. Â I noticed the porch light had been triggered (it is on a motion sensor) which made me even more nervous. Â Something was out there. Â I hadn’t heard a car, which will sometimes cause the light to go on, and I didn’t hear an animal. Â But something had definitely caused our sweet dog to morph into Cujo. Â A peek out the window didn’t reveal anything and after a minute of hopping around, Oscar finally settled down. Â
Since there wasn’t much else to do short of walking around the front yard (which wasn’t about to happen) we returned to bed. Â Oscar was put back in his crate after a grateful pat on the head and a little treat as thanks for all of his hard work. Â
It took me a while to fall back to sleep. Â My over-active imagination was going at warp speed. Â For the first time, I found myself wishing we had a gun in the house. Â It occurred to me that we wouldn’t have known what to do if someone actually was standing in our living room. Â Because as loud as Oscar’s bark is, no one could possibly be scared of him once they actually get a look at his furry face,
and stubby tail (sorry Osc, but it’s true). Â
In other words, we would be in trouble. Â
But I did learn something from this experience. Â I learned that Oscar doesn’t mess around. Â When he thinks there is something going on that we should know about, he’s going to tell us. Â He may not be the biggest dog in the world and he probably wouldn’t hurt a flea, but you know what? Â He has a pretty big bark and hopefully that’s enough to scare off any bad guys. Â And who knows, maybe his bark isn’t bigger than his bite after all.
Hopefully we’ll never have to find out.
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February 17th, 2009 at 5:38 am
What a good dog. He may not be big enough to really protect the house but at least his bark will scare someone off.
February 17th, 2009 at 5:51 am
Good boy, Oscar!!
February 17th, 2009 at 6:59 am
Great job Oscar!!! He sould give you and the CPA a sense of security now knowing that Oscar will alert you guys when needed. I know I feel better for you two. I would think that having an active dog with a loud bark will at least deter evil doers because they will know it will awaken the home owners and neighbors.
Now get some good nights rest knowing Oscar is there to sense things out and give you warning. Sweet, sweet dog – good boy Oscar. Another treat???
February 17th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Oscar is a good boy! I wouldn’t have been able to go back to bed. I would’ve sent my husband outside and I’d have been lurking on the porch with 911 on speed-dial. Once we had people breaking into our car constantly and we set up booby-traps. It was kind of hysterical come to think about it. I’m not sure what we would have done with our ‘criminal’ had we caught him.
It’s nice to know you can sleep easier with Oscar on gaurd.
-FringeGirl
February 17th, 2009 at 7:28 am
Oh how I love that Oscar of yours. I told Odie about the story last night and it brought up the discussion of what we would do if someone was breaking in. And yeah, not a lot was decided. Other than try to hide. I’m pretty sure that always works, right?
February 17th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Mattie is the exact same way. We had to put up blinds in the bedroom because she would sail off the bed and bark at a leaf coming down off a tree and she’s not a barker either. She knows night time is quiet time, but there is nothing more disarming than having your dog bark in the middle of the night. As you know, we have a lot of deer. Sometimes as many as eight or ten and she’s right on it!! Even though she only weighs 5 lbs., she has absolutely no fear. That’s why we have to take her out on a leash even though we’re on a good bit of land. She would “face off” against anything!
P.S. We have guns stashed all over the house, so please call before you come! We put them in the safe when the grandkids come, but when it’s just the two of us, there is always one at arms length. I keep one loaded in a holster hanging on the bedpost! Do you remember the incident with the snake? There is only one “good” snake and that’s a dead snake. If it makes it to the porch, he (or she) is a goner!
February 17th, 2009 at 7:43 am
good boy Oscar! Reminds me of my Lilly! Her bark is a LOT bigger than her bite…but she tries
February 17th, 2009 at 7:58 am
oh my goodness…what a good boy! my pup is the same way, she rarely barks but when she does it’s business. haha. one time we heard her barking like crazy in the backyard and came out to find her being towered over by a colt. somehow it had gotten over the back fence and she was not having it…he was on her terf. haha.
February 17th, 2009 at 8:30 am
We have a boxer, and it’s said “a boxer will lead a thief to the vault and give him the combination for a pat on the head”
While the temperment is right, the boxer gets so happy when someone comes inside that you can’t help but hear his yelps for joy. He might not scare anyone, but he’ll wake us up. Good on Oscar for being such a good boy!
February 17th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Oh that tongue!
February 17th, 2009 at 9:13 am
What a cutie!
My cat used to be my “alarm” – if I heard a sound, I would look at good ‘ole Frank. If he was still asleep, it was nothing. If his head was up and his ears perked, someone was nearby – but fortunately for me never too close by.
Which reminds me, gotta get a new cat… OR a new dog…
February 17th, 2009 at 9:26 am
What a brave little guy. Mabel is the same way, seriously fierce if she thinks something is outside the house. It cracks me up. And Oscar’s last little picture there is adorable! He looks like a teddy bear!
February 17th, 2009 at 9:33 am
So scary! When I was younger and living in California, hour house was broken into several times, twice while we were sleeping. Fortunately, all they did was take some items.
My husband has a gun, and while I generally don’t like it and won’t shoot it, there are times when I feel safer having it in the house.
February 17th, 2009 at 10:38 am
As a big believer in our Second Amendment Rights and a bonafide gun owner, I still say there is nothing like having a good dog or two as a first line of defense. They are irreplaceable and can warn you of bad guys or discourage them altogether. Now bears, that a different story at my house and the subject of an upcoming blog….
February 17th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Glad it turned out to be nothing, and Oscar is so cute!! I love his fluffy coat!
February 17th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Awww… that last pic of Oscar is adorable! What a good boy!
February 17th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Oh my goodness. Oscar knew something was out there. You have a great watch dog in him. That is scary. That dog deserves a big treat!
February 17th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Good boy Oscar! BTW–have you and the CPA decided you should be armed for such an event? Am I to put one aside for future? Carol has already discussed out little Mattie–she can be agressive!
Dad
February 17th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
What a cute dog!! I could just eat him up!!
February 17th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Hey you guys – just wanted to say that you’re right, Oscar is the best dog ever!! He’s only 25 pounds and he’s pretty short, but he’s got a loud bark when he wants to use it. I’m so glad we have him!! And yes Holly Lane – he is a cute dog, so cute it’s hard to ever get mad at him when he doesn’t listen to us.
February 18th, 2009 at 5:22 am
I think sometimes all it would take to deter a thief is a bark from a dog. Anyone who is thinking about breaking in is probably nervous anyway, and a good bark just might scare them off. Whether that is what happened here, I guess you will never know. Good boy, Oscar!!
February 18th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Oscar looks like a Muppet. You should call him the Muppet, similar to how you call your hubby The CPA.
February 18th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Alzo – good point, I know I’d be scared if I heard a dog barking at me!
Heidi – ha!! that would have been a good name for him! He does look like a muppet, doesn’t he?
February 18th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Scary!! But what a wonderful guy to make sure his humans were protected.
Side note: I love love love the pictures of Oscar. He looks just like the dog we had when I was growing up. She was as sweet as pie also, miss her. And I love his tail. My mom’s poodle has a teeny stubby tail also that is so adorable. Love Oscar!
February 20th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Hopefully not!!!