RACCOONS WHISTLE!

Bet you didn't know that. I didn't. But thank goodness this one did.

I was walking up to the lake one evening this week with the dogs. By the time we get to the lake, Polly is always back in the woods doing her own thing... which is NOT looking forward to the lake, as I like to get her wet to cool her off, as she doesn't swim. I'm sure she could, but she's not a water spaniel, which I'm sure is in Bear's blood, as he came from a spaniel family that demonstrated their love for water when we got him as a pup.

So, as we get close to the lake, I'm looking for a good branch to throw into the water. He defeats my plans on having a bunch of branches available, as he takes them back with him one at a time when he's had enough of "Fetch the stick" after I throw it into the water for him to swim out and fetch back, and I'm always having to find another stick almost each time I go up to the lake.

He was all excited... per usual... He's excited about life. It's like everything is so exciting that you'd think it was the first time he did it, whether walking, eating, just going outdoors, and jumping at the door, like he's so eager he cannot control himself. But everything is just so great! He inspires me to notice how wonderful life is... and how even the routine things can be wonderful every single time. So this was a routine thing, but he was bursting at the seams to swim after the stick, so we bounded towards the shore of Cranberry Lake, I threw the stick, and Bear jumped into the water paddling out to get the stick.

Then I hear a low "chirp, chirp", like a low whistle, like someone quietly getting my attention without being too obvious, I turn to see who's hailing me, and it's a small adult raccoon. "OH MY GOD!!" I'm thinking ...if not saying out loud. I realize that if Bear sees this raccoon it could be a catastrophic event... and I must prevent it!!

"BEAR!! SWIM HERE!! COME OVER HERE!" I call trying to get him to change his course, which was towards where I saw the raccoon, which I won't even look at so as not to give it away... And meanwhile I'm as quickly as possible taking my ever present reel out leash off my waist to wrap around his neck as soon as he gets to shore. He comes in near enough to where the raccoon was that it would be impossible to miss it, but I'm wrapping the leash around him with serious speed, and he only picks up on my mood, not on the reason, as cooperates... "Thank God!"

As I'm pulling him along, I turn back to see where the raccoon was, and it's gone. It must have disappeared immediately, not that there was anywhere to go right near the outlet, and if Bear had seen him first, instead of concentrating as to where I was throwing the stick, who knows what would have happened.

So... Raccoons like to tip people off that they are there... or this one did. It was as if it was saying, "Hey, I don't want your dog to notice me... AND I'm sure you don't want that either!"

Smart Raccoon.