After the dogs called me to the front windows of my cottage, I did not see enough to be certain that a crime had occurred . . . so I didn’t telephone 911.
However, because of the way my dogs were acting and the general appearance of the events, I thought it might be prudent to publish what I saw . . . just in case a young, male child is missing in Northeast Georgia.
by Richard L. Thornton, Architect & City Planner
Yesterday afternoon, I was fixing supper for the Three Canine Vikings and myself, while they patiently waited in the Living Room. Queen Agneta will only dine on the couch. Princess Britt prefers to dine on the sun porch, while Prince Erik Hardråde prefers his bowl next to the conga drums.
The dogs sudden went bananas. The queen and princess were barking through the front windows. Prince Erik raced into the kitchen and made high-pitched barks like a coyote, while shaking is head toward the front of the house.
I went to the music room window and didn’t initially see anything near the house, but quickly heard a young child screaming and calling Mama out in the street in front of the house. Through the shrubs, I could see little pixels of a black car, which soon started moving again. I have never heard a child scream so loud in my life. He seemed to be calling for help, like he was fighting for his life.
The compact black car turned into a one lane driveway that goes down the side of the mountain to Collards Hollow. Both dogs and I continued to hear him scream well beyond the point when the car was out of sight. This was not normal.
It could be a situation, where a divorced husband had weekend custody of the child, but he wanted to stay with Mama. The child could have emotional or mental problems. On the other hand, I trust my dogs’ perception that something was terribly wrong. It was better to be safe than sorry, so I am blowing the Viking horn.
Why herd dogs are special
There was a reason that I dropped everything I was doing in the kitchen, when my male herd dog came running into the kitchen to sound the alarm. They are the ultimate companion and watch dogs. When a male makes that sort of sound, something terrible is going on,
Herd dogs have been a part of my life since 1977. I’ve trained them to herd and hiked many a mile with them at my side. I never go into the woods without them, so they can be on the lookout for human predators and bears. They would be a poor choice for a pet in a high rise apartment building! They must get exercise every day. Their idea of exercise is running faster than a rabbit through the woods or around farm pastures for an hour.
The Herd dog breeds are the products of thousands of years of selective breeding. By nature, they like humans and will seek to be petted by them, unless the human is not friendly. In that case, they will come back to me. They are extremely smart and outstanding watch dogs, but NOT attack dogs. They warn the owner of dangers then run to the owner (Alpha Male) for protection.
One particularly beloved trait they have is that they adore human and animal babies. They will cuddle and lick human children. A favorite entertainment for my two new pups is that love to watch wolf pups on You ube! I think if they came upon a litter of coyote pups, they would take them home and adopt them! LOL Yet they are very hostile to grown coyotes, if the coyotes appear to be threatening animals or humans.
