Rosie is a brave bear

A typical Rosie frown ©LB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com

For years when people asked me whether Rosie was a good watch dog, I’d say she has excellent hearing and an impressive bark but that she is not a very brave little bear. Often if there was a strange noise at night, she would leap up barking, but then expect one of us to follow her down the passage to investigate. If we were out on one of our photo drives, and stopped to look at some farm animals, she would stand behind our legs and peek out at these – to her – giant beasts. I wasn’t too bothered by it – I had no desire for Rosie to be harmed in our defence.

Recently, I had to admit that I was wrong. We had somebody break into our house while I was at home. I was sitting very quietly working on my computer and when I heard the initial bang, I thought it was just a door banging or a window rattling in the strong wind. Rosie, who was lying next to me, was alert and growling. And not the kind of growling she does when we are playing with her. Rather a deep, angry rumble. Then as the kitchen door flew open, she jumped up and ran barking towards the noise. Without hesitation. I ran behind her and by the time I got to the kitchen, Rosie was already there and the burglar was turning to make his escape. She chased him all the way off our property.

When she came back in again, I naturally praised her. She seemed to know that she had “done good”. For weeks after the break-in, Rosie was hyper alert and on edge, and while she is less jumpy now, she still goes to investigate if there is an unusual sound.

So Rosie is a brave bear and a very good watchdog.

This post is part of my daily posts for October 2016 – otherwise known as The October Dash