Real African Dog

A while ago Baby's friend from across the street, Z, started pounding on our front door. I opened it.

"Where's Baby? There's a hurt bird out here he has to see!" Z exclaimed.

I thought 'Boys and their desire for grossness.'

Baby went outside while I started the truck, we were leaving for the store and we had just put Boomer the Basset Hound in the backyard, his Kingdom. I pulled around the corner to grab Baby. He was watching a bird flutter off the ground about an inch. The poor thing would fly a foot or two and fall back to the ground. While it looked ok, it definitely wasn't. As it was fluttering around it flapped through our chain link fence into Boomer the Basset Hound's Kingdom.

Whatever came next couldn't have a happy ending. Those with delicate indispositions may want to stop reading now.

Boomer the Basset Hound soon noticed the disabled bird and started barking at it. Then he opened wide and scooped it up in his mouth. The bird sure didn't like that! He fought and Boomer the Basset Hound had to let him go. The bird fluttered frantically away from the big beast. But he wasn't fast enough in his crippled condition. Boomer the Basset Hound barked and tried to eat the bird again. The bird fought back again and got away for a moment.

At this point I decided there was only one probable outcome and the children would be devastated that Boomer the Basset Hound could be so cruel. I put Baby in the truck and instructed the other children to go home. I blatantly lied to them and said the bird would get away but needed to be left alone. I fled the scene.

For several days Baby talked about how the bird got away until he discovered a dead bird in our backyard! He was distressed that Boomer the Basset Hound could do something so brutal. I tried to explain the Circle of Life, but I don't think he's ever seen Lion King. So I related it to Secondhand Lions, his favorite movie and that appeased him. I told him:

"Boomer the Basset Hound is a real African Dog."