I loved reading Helen?s coyote story?reminded me of one scary night when I lived alone in an old mobile home on five fenced acres in the Arizona desert. Fellow listers Judy Mendelsohn and Lee Fossland probably remember this place and still think I was nuts to live out there! Anyway, my dogs slept inside?one in the bedroom with me with a kiddie gate in the doorway, and another just on the other side of the gate with access to the outside by a dog door. Late one night I was wakened by these two bitches growling and pacing nervously. I got up and could see the shadow of a good-sized, prick-eared creature ?presumably a coyote--thru the translucent doggie door flap, backlit by the moon. I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest. The one bitch with access to the outside didn?t want anything to do with this situation but my Dancer rose to the occasion, busted through that gate, and chased that coyote off HER property. I listened, terrified, to one scuffle, then quiet, then another scuffle, then finally silence. I called Dancer back but her job wasn?t yet done, she needed to patrol the area for a while. And that was O.K. with me?I sure wasn?t getting back to sleep anytime soon. Dancer, whom I thought was my resident chickens#*t, had just a couple of minor scrapes on her face and was very proud of herself. I live in a Twin Cities suburb now, just a few miles from Helen, but I sometimes miss the wide-open spaces, even with all the wildlife! Deb ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2005. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://www.showgsd.org ============================================================================