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When we decorated the living room in our new house, being a guy, naturally I did not have much say in the decor. Most guy's idea of decorations are moose mounts and duck pictures. Women tend more to candles and flowers. It usually works out better if the woman of the house has the final say. Men can live with most any decor while certain things wear on women after a while. My only request was the spotting scope in the living room. At first, my wife thought the closet was a more appropriate place for it, but when she had to run and get it out to see something off in the distance a few times, she agreed: the living room would be a perfect place for a telescope on a tripod.

This morning was a perfect example of why a person needs a spotting scope in their living room. I left for work and my wife went back to her chair to read her book. A few minutes passed when she noticed her coffee cup was empty. As one does when they stand up in our living room, she glanced out at the lake. She noticed something coming across the ice toward the house. At first she thought it might be some deer, but it is unusual to see them venture out on the ice. She went to the spotting scope, zeroed in and saw three coyotes coming her way. She looked up to see our dogs, Coty, the Labrador retriever and Duke, the Mastiff, going toward the lake at the same time. Since our son hunts coyotes with dogs, she was well aware of stories of coyotes turning on dogs and attacking them. Coty is the type of dog that has never been in a fight in his life. Most Labs get along with anything and anybody. They live to retrieve and please their masters. If a fight were to break out, they would be the dog at the edge of the crowd wondering what was going on. It just is not in their nature to be aggressive. Duke is an enormous dog, larger than some ponies I have seen, but is not an athlete. He can be aggressive but would lose a fight with the average terrier a tenth his size.

The dogs, as they do every day, were making their morning rounds heading toward the lake, unaware of the coyotes. My wife, well aware of our dogs abilities and shortcomings, watched as the three coyotes fanned out as they approached the dogs. Duke was in the lead, sniffing his way toward the lake, oblivious and enjoying all the smells from the night before as the middle coyote came closer across the ice. When the leader came ashore, Coty finally spotted him. He barked and charged forward, but the coyote stood his ground. It was then my wife decided to put a halt to the situation before it became serious. She grabbed the AK-47.

An AK-47 is not an attractive rifle but it is easy to use and always works. She stepped out of the door onto the porch and blasted a few rounds into the hill on the opposite side of the lake. For fear of hitting the dogs, she did not shoot at the coyotes but was still able to convince them to leave. As they tucked tail and ran, suddenly Duke was going to be the hero. He took out after them but came back when my wife called to him.

I am not sure why the coyotes were coming toward the house nor why they would approach the dogs, but after the scare they got, I am sure they will never try to attack at our house again.



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