IF I'M LION, I'M DYIN'

Here are some of the things my little dog Mickey is scared of: (1) a potato chip bag blowing in the gutter (2) skateboards (3) bicycles (4) baby strollers (5) kites (6) manger scenes (7) Halloween decorations (8) ornamental pigs, ducks, lambs, etc in flowerbeds (9) bugs, and (10) cats.

I have told him he is supposed to chase cats, but he gets my instructions mixed up. They run one way and he runs the other. If he could climb a fence, he would.

Maybe he isn't so dumb after all. There is an article in today's Amarillo newspaper warning residents of the Beautiful Texas Panhandle that a mountain lion has been sighted just outside the city limits. People are advised to keep their dogs in the house, otherwise it will be Fido Casserole.

I tend to forget that Mickey is a very smart little dog. I sometimes fail to appreciate that he can smell things out there and hear things that I can't. Sometimes he runs to the door and goes into a barking frenzy for no apparent reason. Now I know: He is trying to tell me something. He is trying to tell me LIONS and TIGERS and BEARS. But especially LIONS.

Good boy, Mickey. Now I am going to listen.