We had a few trees out back and the squirrels that lived in them were characters, I can tell you. There were these particular two squirrels that used to tease Zander sometimes, and they were pretty good at it too. I guess they knew they could always keep out of Zander's way if they stayed within reach of the trees.
They would come down and drink out of Zander's water dish, and Zander would always give out with a storm of barking until we let him out to chase them off. But he could never catch them, because they would be up a tree like lightning. I was convinced they were up there laughing at him!
Sometimes when Zander was out back nosing around under them trees, those squirrels would throw twigs down at him, and that liked to drive him crazy. Well, one day they really got his goat but good!
There were these particular two trees about fifteen feet behind the house that these squirrels especially liked to spend time in. They even had a nest up there. These two trees were only about six or eight feet apart, and those squirrels could go from one to the next any number of ways up there in the branches.
Well, one day Zander was out there sniffing something right at the bottom of one of those trunks, and I guess those squirrels got the notion it was a ripe opportunity to have a little fun with him. One of them sat there up in the tree Zander was at watching him like a hawk while the other snuck over to the other tree and started coming down it real stealthy like. He got all the way down to the bottom without Zander even noticing, he was so wrapped up in whatever he was sniffing.
That mischievous squirrel got on the ground and snuck right up behind Zander, nearly touching his tail, and suddenly gave out a raucous noise. Old Zander jumped right in the air, he was so startled! By the time he turned around to go after the squirrel, the little pest was already too far up the tree trunk for Zander to reach him.
Zander lifted up and put his front feet right up on the trunk, barking his head off at that squirrel like no tomorrow, and that squirrel was milking it, I swear, chattering back down at Zander like a scolding old hen. They was having quite an argument!
Meanwhile, the squirrel back in the first tree was sneaking down the trunk like the other had done, and dang if he didn't sneak up behind Zander, just like the other had done! Just like the other one, he let out a squawk and zipped right up the tree when Zander spun around at him. Then Zander was in the same argument with that one he had just been in with the other!
Of course, the other squirrel pulled the same stunt all over again, and back and forth it went until Zander got fed up and watched both of them. Them squirrels knew they couldn't sneak up on him any more, so they got to throwing down twigs like they liked to do. Zander knew he couldn't do nothing about that, so he went over and sat guarding his water dish for nearly the rest of the afternoon. We were all laughing about the whole thing until suppertime. I tell you what, we loved that dog.
