Attack Trained
Chihuahua
‘He never did!
‘I tell you that dog saved my life’.
Bet and Elsie were having a cup of tea at Bet’s. They were
sitting in the living room with a fine china tea set in front of them with
scones and cakes on the table. They were old friends and took it in turn to
treat each other to tea every few days. They’d known each other for about 20
years and enjoyed chatting and gossiping on what was happening in the
neighbourhood. Alone on the sofa, on his own cushion sat a rather overweight
Chihuahua, looking smug.
‘I don’t believe it – a little dog like that!’
‘As true as I’m sitting here with you today – that dog saved
my life!’
‘Well I never – who’d have thought it. What happened’?
‘Well you know that I bought him originally for companionship
and protection after my Burt died. So I’ve been trying to teach him a few
tricks and to growl threateningly at strangers who get, you know, over
familiar. Well it wasn’t really going very well. Pedro here didn’t seem to
understand what to do and just tended to look at me and bark all the time so we
weren’t getting very far at all and I wondered whether I should take him to a
professional dog trainer like that Barbara Woodhouse who was on telly a few
years back. Anyway I was looking in the Yellow Pages when I heard a sound at
the back door.
‘Oooh – who was it?’
‘Well that’s when it all started. I walked slowly to the back
– you know how my arthritis is playing up – but when I got there I saw a young
person in jeans and some kind of T-shirt
(why can’t the young dress properly) with a stocking over their face and
a knife in his hand and he demanded all of my money.’
‘You must have been terrified’.
‘I was I can tell you and I really hoped that Pedro had
learnt something from the training we’d done together, but no – he just stayed
at a safe distance and yapped.
‘Well anyway the person grabbed my arm and threatened me. I
was crying now because I was so frightened and he (I think it was a ‘he’) it
was hard to tell from the dress and tone of voice which was muffled and asked
me where I kept my valuables. I muttered something about the living room I
think and he demanded that I take him there. I was too scared to do anything
else. He looked so frightening.’
‘I suppose there wasn’t the opportunity to call the police –
couldn’t you have screamed or something?’
‘I did scream but there was nobody there to help as they both
work during the week either side of me. So I limped to the living room still
crying and then walked over to where the silver was. The man came after me,
still holding a knife. He held out a bag and told me to put all my valuables in
it. I walked up to the mantelpiece and was about to put the silver candlesticks
into the bag. The person was watching me and moving forward not looking where
he was going. And that was when my brave Pedro came to the rescue, bless him.
He walked right in front of that threatening person and tripped him up. He hit
his head on the table (the person not Pedro) and was out like a light! Then I
called the police and the person was taken away and charged with burglary. I
don’t know what would have happened if it hadn’t been for my beautiful, brave
gorgeous Pedro – who’s my lovely boy then would ‘oo like a piece of cake?‘
(This last directed at the smug dog on the cushion).
‘Well I never’ (a doubtful look at said dog), ‘who’d have
thought it!’