Matilda the Brave...... or not

My dear ol' puppy dog Matilda can be a very, very brave and ferocious canine. There is a little "family" of bees that fly around our front stoop and have made a home somewhere under the threshold of our front door. They haven't bothered anyone yet and Matthew regularly sprays to keep them away.

Matilda did NOT authorize their location of residence and is not going to stand for this utter lack of regard for her opinion. She often asks to go outside only to stand guard of the pesky intruders. Matilda will fearlessly wait quietly for just the right moment and then....SNAP..... kills the pesky bees in one foul swoop of her ferocious jaws. I have seen her do this on many occasions. I do not have photo documentation of this, however, as I do not want to be close enough to the receiving end of an accidental miss. I can't imagine the bees enjoy being stalked, caught and bit by Matilda and so if she does happen to let an angry bee go I want to be far away. Please know that I am entirely truthful on this matter and am very thankful Matilda is doing what she can to control the bee population attempting to invade our home.

On the complete opposite side of this dear doggy's personality she is a major wimp. Usually this only occurs while it rains. It could be misting or full force tornado warnings and she reacts the same. I've heard of dogs that are afraid of thunder and strong winds, but mist? She will not go outside if it's raining, misting or the shingles are being blown off the roof. She doesn't even lay down in her favorite spots. Nope, not Matilda. She has special precipitation hiding spots. I now know of four. They include:

1. behind the entertainment system
2. on the landing of the stairs
3. under the utility sink in the laundry room

and today's new spot......

4. the bathroom, as far under the toilet as she could fit

I'm really impressed actually. Being that we've only had our dear Matilda for about 7.5 months we do not know her history and where she came from or who took care of her. Somebody did a remarkable job teaching her the all the safe locations during a storm. I do not know why she feels it necessary to hide in the bathroom while it's merely sprinkling outside though. There's no thunder or lightning at this time.

I guess it's better to be safe than sorry though so, I allow her to hide. We used to try to comfort and reassure her when we first noticed this behavior. No use. Matilda will not come out and only peeks out from under wherever she's hiding when all forms of precipitation have stopped.