In
advance let me apologise - I had not intended to bombard you with barricades -
the fence theme of the last few days appeared all as a flow of
consciousness. No forward planning. Today's J story, though, I did forecast, so
it will be told as promised last week!
To be
fair, it doesn't begin as a fence story.
Rather, it begins with the Council Dog Controller telephoning to say
there had been a complaint. Not
"complaintS". A Complaint.
This was a first warning regarding nuisance barking. Needless to say I was a bit confuddled. You see, at the time I was studying again and was
only working 15 hours per week. In other
words, was mostly at home.
The only
time I would hear Jade bark was when a dog passed the front gate. I discouraged
it of course, but it was never prolonged anyway. Any other bark was generally in association
with interactions such as "did you forget about brekky?" or "Today I'd like an extra
walk". Anything else, she'd do
paw-signing and dogglepathy.
So what
was going on? The CDC was a patient and
diplomatic fellow and said not to worry.
But if it came again, he'd have to do an assessment. Fine by me.
It came
again. This time he called to say he had come to the door to let me know he was around (wouldn't you know it
was one of the three morning's I was on shift?). It was not a problem. He simply sat outside in his van for 90
minutes (- he gets paid for that-) awaiting any nuisance noise from no.
36. He was, he said, delighted to report
that apart from 'acceptable' barking at one dog passing, Jade uttered not a
whimper.
Quite so,
said I. Where to from here?
He would
advise the complainant that if this was the barking being referred to, then they would need to reassess their level of tolerance.
Later he
called and said there was insistence that there had been prolonged barking. At
the back fence.
Ah. My immediate thought was of our old mate
Buddy the Bully. I was assured this was
not the situation. By this time I was
getting a bit frayed around the nerves.
Of course CDC couldn't tell me who was complaining, but it could be only one
of three possibilities. Anyway,
unfortunately the situation was such that CDC was now forced to pass the
complaint to the local constabulary. Who
knew they needed to confirm such minor things in order to authorise council for "action"?
What
action? Removal of offending animal!!!
Lord, did
I pray that night. Next morning the boys
in blue were on the doorstep. Very
large, strapping young men, bristling with leather and paraphernalia, including
the gun. Aussie cops carry weapons. It's not good for the shaky nerves let me
tell you. Jade was up for causing a
civil disturbance and they could slap her in irons. (Strewth! Am shaking again
just retelling the tale! Be still my hammering heart…)
Lord came
through. They had with them a bunch of
paperwork, but when they began to question me it was about my whereabouts on a
certain day three weeks previous. Why, that was one of my work shifts at the bank, officer.
Really? They eyed each other
the way all cops do (I know 'coz I love cop shows...J), then
the senior turned with a glint in one of those sky-blue eyes and asked if I had noticed
anything missing from my property.
Say
what? Hadn't you come about the dog?
Well,
yes, but when the CDC had contacted them they found at the time of the
"alleged offence" (tsk listen to them!), there had also been a report
of a home invasion in the street behind.
Investigation revealed that three
houses had been tampered with and at the third one, the owner had been
present and the perpetrator had taken off across the back fence. They had observed him skipping other fences,
instead of going out onto the road, prior to calling the police.
The
officer stopped and looked at me to let this sink in. I looked at Jade who, bless her long red
paws was lying taking this all in, then back at blue eyes.
"You
think Jade was trying to raise the alarm that there was an intruder?"
"En garde!!" |
"We
do!"
They were
still looking for a youth in typical baggy street wear, probably a red
overshirt and black or dark blue baseball cap.
They were confident they knew the suspect as a repeat offender but had
yet to apprehend him. He was a known
small-time drug dealer but more a user and inclined to go 'fishing' for goodies
that were not his. They also knew that he wasn't overly endowed with thinking
power, so was likely to make an attempt on the same properties in due course.
So, as
far as the complaint was concerned, they were happy to let it drop. Phew.
Did I mention that during this whole time Jade sat at the feet of the
junior of the duo and he kept tickling her ears? Honestly, she was a model citizen!
You are
probably guessing by now that the story has not finished. It was a mere two days later - seriously! -
that Jade set up the most raucous barking I'd ever heard - by the side fence. I rushed out to the patio and noticed that
the Right neighbour's kitchen window was open - unusual. Jade was standing at the little side gate
that separated her from the meter box. I
looked round the corner and there he was - fiddling with my bedroom
window. OI!!!!
He took
off like a bullet. I dashed back through
the house and spotted him vaulting over the 4' wall at the front and round into
the Left neighbour's garden. I was on
the phone nearly as quickly.
The cop
duo were there within 10 minutes, lights flashing, no siren…
clever boys. By this time Jade had
settled but was still on alert. I
pointed the direction and they made their way up the street on foot, one going
round the back of the houses. A little
while later (no idea how long really it was all so surreal, we were in a real
live cop show!) there was a great crashing and banging and shouting and all
that stuff. Then the lad was
frog-marched down the street, handcuffed and looking rather too cocky.
In the
afternoon, the cops were back at no. 36 with a chew prize for Jade!!!! The Junior even got conned into throwing the
bat toy. Blue eyes also told me he had
made a point of calling the complainant regarding the barking and to let them
know that she was just doing her job.
Wait -
there's more! Right neighbour had indeed
been burgled by the nasty little toad and it was all the diamonds and gold from
her dresser that had gone. Of course, it
was now recovered and she was so relieved, she bought Jade a doggie
hamper… Jade, being the model citizen,
shared some of the biccie and liver treats with Jasper. Even though he had turned not a whisker at
the whole thing!
That's my
gal.
More from the J's next week folks! Meanwhile, do have a look at the CanineChronicles episode and don't forget to visit Bozo!
Oh, wonderful wonderful Jade. A model citizen indeed.
ReplyDeleteI seriously doubt if Lindy (though we do love her) would raise any kind of ruckus if our neighbours were being burgled, and if thieves came to our house, she'd probably sleep right through the entire burglary.
Anyone and everyone could come into our house and she'd only pay attention if they brought dog treats.
She WILL bark at passing dogs if she's outside, and also at cyclists sometimes, if she isn't asleep under her tree.
Wonderful story about your real life cop show with Blue Eyes and Junior. I love it.
K
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteThank you Kay - she was and as I have said to many before this, it is not until faced with such situations that you find out the real measure of your companions.... no matter how may legs they have!
So glad it struck a chord. Give Lindy a big hug from YAM-aunty, won't you please? &*> xxx
Jade dog. That's why I love Mondays.
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDelete... yup...:*)