Toby and the Coyote
– December 4, 2016 Toby –
The other day I was walking with Johnnie and we came to a large open field where he unhooked my leash and I ran out into the open soft grass. I love to run on the grass.
“Coyote,” Johnnie said. “Over there.” He pointed to the treeline along the edge of the field. There stood a medium sized dog looking creature. That’s a coyote. I stopped and stared then began to move toward the coyote.
“Coyote eats Toby,” Johnnie said.
I stopped in my tracks and looked at Johnnie, then back at the dog like creature, then crept back to Johnnie’s side. What do you mean Coyote eats Toby. I looked up at him and wondered.
“Stay close,” he said and walked away from the coyote toward the road. “Come.”
I ran over and laid at Johnnie’s feet. He clipped me back onto the leash and we headed to the road, crossed over the levy and into the river park. I love this park. We dropped down to the side trail along Dry Creek. We were both unleashed and I began to run ahead.
“Coyote is still around,” Johnnie said. “Stay close.”
This time I heeded his words and stayed very close. I still got all the sniffing in I could muster, spotted a few locations to let others know I was here and even got a quick snack in when Johnnie wasn’t looking.
A howl rose in the air followed by yipping and more yapping.
“That’s the coyote calling his friends in. They would love a little Toby for dinner.”
Hey, don’t even joke like that. I rubbed against Johnnie’s leg and followed right behind. No time for sniffing now. We were in the woods along the river and the wiley creature could be hiding anywhere along the trail. They are bigger then me and look mean. They keep their tails down and have nasty looking teeth. I figure I will just stay as close to Johnnie as I can. We get to the end of the trail and crossed back over the levee into a neighborhood where there are no coyotes. At least not at the moment. I think. At home Johnnie gives me some pepperoni stick and I am a happy dog.
