Instinctual

Apparently this is what happens when you get a puppy of a breed that is known for being excellent hunting dogs. Instincts kick in right in the middle of a casual afternoon walk.

Every afternoon after lunch, I've been taking Dublin on walks, and for the past few days we've been walking down the easement behind the houses so he can be off-leash and walk and explore in the grass. Today we did the same. He was going along beside me, wandering every so often to sniff at weeds or try to snack on rocks, but staying with me pretty well. All of a sudden, his nose started sniffing a million miles an hour, he was pointing, and totally keyed in on something that I couldn't see. But he smelled it. And he would NOT let it go. So I stepped back to see what was so exciting to his little puppy sniffer. I figured it couldn't be anything much, since I couldn't see it... maybe a grasshopper or something... he has been known to sniff those out from time to time.

The next thing I know, he comes up with a SNAKE in his mouth, and he was prancing around, proud as could be.

He was none too happy when I made him drop it and walk away. Not happy at all. But I was just not willing to bring the snake home with us as a play toy. Nor was I willing to sit back and watch Animal Planet while my dog tore into a snake for snack. Nope. So he had to drop it and walk away, like it or not.

I knew there was a reason I grabbed my camera before we went on our walk today. You just never know what kind of photo moment will come up. ;)
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