Sheepshit

"Tilde? ... Tilde!!", I shouted, to no avail.

Ah yes, you might have noticed, a lot of my recent posts seem to start with exactly that shout, although eye-witnesses claim I use the F word.

Before you read on, I want to reassure you, no person or animal got hurt, other than yours truly's confidence in having any control whatsoever over Tilde, was dented once more.

Tilde was running towards a flock of sheep that were grazing on top of a dike. We kept good distance to the dike while passing by - more than twice the length of a football field - and we were playing fetch with Tilde's favorite ball. When suddenly she stood absolutely still, gave me one last gaze - as if she was making up her mind - and off she went. Again.

I laughed out loud. Confident, because I knew the area was fenced in, and after "Chickenshit", I wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Until I saw her make a jump that high, I thought to be physically impossible. Luckily Tilde didn't make it over the fence, but it ensured my panic level to be restored to it's appropriate level in a heart-beat. All the commotion me and Tilde were by now making started to worry the sheep that had been calm so far, and soon they were on the move. Not very long after a genuine sheep stampede was unfolding, with sheep running further and further along the dike.

The sight of what must have been dozens of sheep running even aroused Tilde more, and she excitedly followed them, jumping the fence, frolicking, and worse, I couldn't keep up with Tilde and the sheep, slowly but surely they were moving out of sight. First one mile further, at the end of my breath, I finally found Tilde, standing in front of the fence, at a corner where the dike stopped. She was alone, the sheep most have gone behind it out of sight. I was so relieved, during my run, the headlines with "sheep killer on the loose" were already flashing through my mind.

After the incident, we avoided the area as much as possible, until today, as in the last weekend of September, the sheep are moved to their winter home. It is a great place to walk your dog, and one of Kenzo's favorite places. Behind the dike, there is a valley with a canal where they can swim, and lot of hills to play and run - and it is all fenced in. With the sheep gone, we went in with Tilde, but she hadn't forgot the sheep, and also their scent was of course still there.

I think she searched every corner of the area, investigated each sheep dropping she encountered, and looked for sheep from the top of hills. She even found some sheep fur, what looked like a a spot where some clipping was done, and she studied it intensely.

With every one of Tilde's senses on serious overtime, I never brought home a more tired dog, after such a short walk.