Dear Kid,

“Grab the dog!”

I am sitting on the ground having a particularly unpleasant argument with a weed about its eviction notice. Booker is near me introducing himself to a worm I uncovered for him. The worm is silent. Booker licks it.

When Dad yells, I dive for the puppy, grabbing his collar and holding on. Think tackling a receiver just before a spectacular diving touch down. Booker ignores me and paws the worm.

A coyote runs across our property, takes a hard left at the water meter, and dashes down the front lawn and across the street, disappearing into the neighbor’s backyard.

I let go of Booker who carefully picks up the worm and trots a few feet away to play with his new friend.

It takes about 3 seconds for him to register Scent of Coyote.

Then all smell breaks loose. The worm is completely ignored (you’re definitely going to want to tune in tomorrow for the second worm story).

Booker dashes around in circles, then backtracks the scent. Dad thinks this is hilarious since the puppy is going the wrong way.

Then, carefully covering the ground in a slight zigzag pattern, Booker begins to follow his nose. Which leads him across our lawn, takes a hard left at the water meter, and pulls him across the street and into the neighbor’s backyard. His nose picks up speed as it goes, so by the time he disappears those little legs are moving at the Speed of the Chase.

Coyotes are not known for playing nicely with small doggies.

Dad heads across the street and to retrieve the pup. After a few minutes, Booker trots back looking prouder of himself than the time he rolled in a dead bird. He did not catch the coyote, but he caught the scent which apparently is good enough for him.

The coyote is presumably doing coyote things that hopefully do not involve small dogs in the neighborhood. The worm is presumably happily enjoying his new location on our lawn (you really are going to want to hear tomorrow’s worm story). Booker’s nose is taking a well-deserved nap. So is the rest of him. The garden still has plenty of weeds, but fewer than it did yesterday.

Love, Mom