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“It’s not even six yet, buddy. Can’t we go for a walk when the sun is up?”
He barks in my face.
“Whoa, okay. What’s going on?”
Ranger whines, and now I know for sure. He’s onto something.
“I’m getting dressed as fast as I can,” I say to him while he circles the bungalow. I open the front door before I even have my shoes on since I can tell he needs to get out and track something down. He nuzzles at the door to open it faster and shoots like lightning down the street.
“Ranger!”
So much for tying shoelaces.
I try to follow behind him, the white of his fur making a streak in the street lights. He’s already well ahead of me as he makes his first turn around the corner.
But I can hear him. Oh, I can really hear him.
Our neighborhood is right on the edge of town, a residential area, and Ranger’s barks could wake up the dead.
“Ranger!”
He doesn’t stop. I catch up to him on the next street, where he’s by the side of Mrs. Bondar’s house.
“Hey, buddy. It’s okay.”
He barks, and barks, and barks.
I hear Mrs. Bondar call from inside. “What’s happening? Why is that dog so upset?” I rush up the front steps as she opens the front door in her nightgown.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Bondar. I’m figuring it out with Ranger.”
“Ranger? Is that you, Terence?”
“It’s me. I’m standing on your front step.”
See, Mrs. Bondar is blind. She’s been a fixture in the community for as long as I can remember. I don’t think she was always blind since I have memories of her with her chihuahua in the park. And while a chihuahua is many things, it’s most certainly not a seeing-eye dog.
Ranger barks some more.
“What are you doing out here at this hour?” Mrs. Bondar asks. “And why is Ranger so upset?”
“Can someone get that dog to knock it off?” a neighbor yells, and I can’t blame him.
But if Ranger dashed all the way here, it’s for a reason.
“Hang on a minute, Mrs. Bondar. I’m going to see what’s up with Ranger.”
When I reach the side of the house, Ranger is there, scratching at the ground.
“What’s there, boy?” I ask since I don’t see a thing.
He noses the ground.
I get down on my knees and can finally see what he’s going on about.
“Dude, that’s a dead mouse. I can understand you being upset, but that’s no reason to cause all this–”
Ranger barks again, this time in an incessant stream. Neighbors are yelling, and Mrs. Bondar is trying to calm them down, while I do my best to figure out what has happened to my dog.
