Meanwhile, back at the Lair, Lagniappe was having a bad day

First, Lagniappe took his beloved stuffed hedgehog out onto the deck yesterday, even though he knows that he's not supposed to. Stupid dog...we've been over this so many times. The hedgehog is an indoor toy.

And as expected, he dropped it off the deck like he always does, and he barked and cried until finally I came out and figured out what was causing him so much trauma. Of course I didn't see his hedgehog down below the deck, so finally I went outside to see what his issue was, and he ran down and bolted out the door past me. I yelled at him because he's not allowed out loose in the front yard, but he just ran out, grabbed his toy, and ran back in the house again. That's when I realized what his malfunction was--he just wanted his hedgie.

And then it was those damned squirrels again. This time, Lagniappe was inside, playing with his hedgehog, when two squirrels appeared on the deck. I'd left a bag of peanuts out there (Lagniappe loves peanuts) and the squirrels were mounting a raid on the bag. They had climbed up on the lawn chair that the bag was on and were rummaging into the bag, and Lagniappe, on the other side of the glass, saw this. To say that he was upset is an understatement. He ran to the window and he barked at the squirrels and pawed at the glass. But these squirrels obviously understand the concept of glass and they knew that Lagniappe could not get out to get them, so they disregarded him and went right on about their business of looting the peanut bag and shuttling away with the peanuts one after the other, returning time and time again to get more with absolutely no regard for the hysterical German Shepherd on the other side of the window.

Once more, I was drawn by his carrying on and when I saw what was yanking his chain this time, I just had to laugh. And I stood there for about five minutes and watched these two squirrels taking peanut after peanut while Lagniappe watched, growling and crying to no avail. Poor silly dog.

So all in all, it was a frustrating day for Lagniappe, but it ended on a better note--for him at least--when I let him outside just before dusk and he spied one of the many local feral cat in the yard.

Cat lovers would do best to stop reading now.

I let Lagniappe out into his run--his run--and the first thing that we both saw was this stupid feral cat walking along in the run like it hadn't a care in the world. Of course Lagniappe was onto it before I could react, and there was absolutely no calling him back. I rushed out to stop it but to no avail; he had that cat in seconds, and the fight was as brief as it was one-sided. To paraphrase from one of Monty Python's best bits: E's passed on! This cat is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-CAT!

Lagniappe came off without so much as a scratch and he spent the rest of the evening lying on his rug by the door, with his hedgehog, watching the deck and waiting for the squirrels to return.

Who ever knew that a dog's life could be so dramatic?