Relative Something

Asher has been getting a lot of mentions lately, but I can’t skip telling this story just because I’ve already written about him so many other times. I think he pulled a fast one on us.

At the start of our walk yesterday morning, he suddenly took off in a sprint into the woods and grabbed some critter before we knew what was happening. I didn’t get a good look, but my best guess is that it was probably a young raccoon. Asher quickly ran out of sight with the limp body hanging in his mouth, ostensibly to bury it, per his natural inclination.

We hustled through the woods after him, but gave up without finding him and started making our way toward the barn to feed the horses. Then I spotted his orange scarf on the compost pile by the labyrinth. He was pushing the dirt with his nose and packing it securely.

That showed us where his catch was buried. We made a plan to come back later, without him, and dig it up to dispose of the body in the trash.

Cyndie had the first crack at it and came up empty. She asked me to check. I went through the whole pile and found nothing. It didn’t make any sense.

Why did we see him covering up something there, but found nothing when we checked a short time later? Cyndie said there was no evidence that the dirt had been disturbed after we watched Asher pack it down with his nose.

Was he putting on a show for us to make us think that’s where he buried it? That really seems like a stretch.

For the record, we have seen Asher bury a lot of bones and creatures he has captured over the years, but we have never seen him dig them up later. I once happened upon a bone that he had buried and offered it up to him like it was a prize. He immediately carried it away and re-buried it.

I don’t know what he did with his trophy, and at this point, I don’t want to know. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that Asher has instincts and knowledge of things to which I am entirely oblivious.

As long as he stays on our property and behaves respectfully with friends and visitors who stop by –sometimes with their own pets– I am comfortable giving him freedom to be a dog and do dog things without me entirely comprehending.

He will always have an edge over me, given that canine ability to pick up scents umpteen thousand times better than we can.

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