Oh And Squirrels…

And then… There were squirrels.

This was not a chase, it was a dare game.

A squirrel would appear — casual, smug, minding its business — and I would lock eyes with it. At that moment, an agreement was made.

You run. I chase. And I did.

I chased with full speed, full focus-no distractions.

I ran like I was going to catch it at the end of the world.The squirrel, of course, cheated. It would run straight up a tree….Every. Single Time!

And there I was — pacing furiously at the bottom, running back and forth, barking, calculating angles, seriously considering climbing.

Definitely tried!!

I barked in anger and frustration and barked at my promise of future vengeance. The squirrel would sit up there, teasing me, flicking its tail like it had already won. But the story didn’t end there.

Oh no!!!

Even after we went back home — after the leash was off, after everyone thought it was over — I remembered. I would suddenly stop.Think about it and bark… A few dramatic barks. Not because the squirrel was there, because it needed to know I had not forgotten. These were memory barks.
Reminders. Warnings. Messages sent across time and space.

The squirrels may have escaped that day.

But they never truly won.