Snoopy!

A few minutes ago I heard a loud crash downstairs, followed by my cat bawling hysterically.

My first thought was, "Oh dear, there goes Mom's Christmas tree..." My next thought was worry that Millie had hurt herself. Then I heard Dad exclaim, "There's a pup!!"

Turns out there was a fat little beagle on our back deck!

He gazed at us with soulful brown eyes, and wagged his tail. He didn't have a collar on but looked well-fed and happy enough. We let him do his thing and he left our deck after a few minutes.

I looked out the front window and saw a couple walking along the street. Dad went outside and indeed, they had been looking for their dog. They are visiting a neighbor and had let the little guy out to do as nature intended before he wandered off.

I'm used to seeing deer as I drive through the neighborhood, and raccoons eating from the bird feeder. I love watching the squirrels climb in their little box for peanuts. I have come to expect these things but today is perhaps the only time I'll see a Beagle on the back deck, gazing in and making Millie's tail puff up to the width of a baseball bat.

P.S. We don't have fenced in back yards up here, that's why all kinds of creatures can get right up next to our house.