For those of you who know us well, you know we’ve had pets for a long time…lots of pets. They seem to come and go in various ways, but we always seem to have a few. These days we are taking care of the ancient sheltie, the Darling Hero’s chihuahua, and the I-have-no-idea-how-he-got-here chi-papillion mix (AKA: the Freeloader).
Just recently, the Freeloader found his niche in service to our family by killing an ant. I was thrilled our little guy found some useful thing to do, especially since that hasn’t been his strong suit. Obedience and tricks not being within his grasp, I guess he’s proven he is a gi-ANT killer of sorts (assuming they are less than 12 inches off the floor).
Well, the hunter has raised his sites, friends! He is now going after bigger game: flies. This is new territory. The new quarry is faster, higher, and possibly more intelligent. It’s not a problem until you consider the other side of the equation. The hunter is slower, lower, and not the brightest bulb on the string, if you know what I mean.
So far today, I’ve been hit about three times by a flying fuzzball (complete with his nails seeking leverage for the flying leap he’s going to take). *sigh*
I think the funnier part of the story is as follows….
My son was watching the fly on the table next to his workspace. He was, of course, distracted by it, and he decided to nab it between his thumb and first finger…on the first try! Habanero has some good reflexes. If I remember correctly, a fly has a response time of 1/16 of a second, and a mantis has a response time of 1/32 of a second. Way to go, son!
Eat your heart out Mr. Miagi!
