Dexter: Guardian of Little Goldfish

Ever since our lily pond was destroyed by "something" and most of the goldfish got eaten, Dexter has become concerned of the fish.  Every time he gets outside, he goes check on the fish - by the way, we put 20 new fish in last week - I wonder if he counts them too??? 

Great Danes are not known to be guard dogs.  Heck, Dexter, true to his breed, is afraid of his own shadow sometimes.  He hates being chased by his leash.  Ever seen a big dog trying to run away from his leash that's dragging behind him?  He can't understand why he can't outrun it.  The faster he runs, the faster and the louder the leash goes.  The look on his face is pretty hilarious.  If you ever see a mantel Great Dane being chased by a red leash, that's Dexter.

Sorry, I digress. .. so Robert told me that he found out who the fish killer was.  Dexter started barking at 2am this morning.  That's unusual because he is usually soundly asleep (and snores too).  Robert looked out - he thought the burglars were back - and he saw not one but TWO raccoons by the pond checking out the fish.  HA!!  I told you it must have been raccoons!!  He said they were fat and had big black eyes like bandits.  So he ran to open the door and Dexter took off after the raccoons.  Robert said Dexter chased them across the yard and made them climb the fence to escape.  Wow... my fearless dog!! 

We are so proud of him!!   I guess we wouldn't have been surprised if Dexter went hiding but he didn't.  Like a responsible guardian that he appointed himself to be, he defended his little friends.  What a trooper!  What a raccoon chaser!  What a fish protector!  What a dog!

Remember, Great Danes were bred to hunt wild boars in ancient times.  I guess Dexter still has that DNA in him.  Just don't drag a raccoon back.  I don't want it.  Fish Killer.

Good Boy, Dexter!

A Chain of Events

So, Robert told me that something got to the water lilies in our little pond (OK, a 100-gallon tub) and the goldfish.  He told me to brace myself when I go over because it looked pretty bad.

Ugh!  Who?  What?  This has never happened before since we adopted the water lilies from cousin Su-Ming four years ago.  The 20 some odd goldfish has lived there since the first week. They thrive in the pond and always come up to the surface for food and play.  I never thought they would be in danger.

The Crime Scene: Yap, the water lilies looked pretty bad.  Bent, broken, shredded... some of them were blooming too.  The water was still and quiet.  No sign of any goldfish... Wait, I saw two, but they were too scared to come up.  They tried to hide beneath the torn lilies.  I think they are the only two survivors...  My poor fish!!

Robert and I think a raccoon might have done it. Haven't seen one around but what else? Cat?  Hawk?  Couldn't be a possum (although I do see them)... but why now?

Here's what I think: A raccoon wandered in because there was no threat of being discovered.  Normally Dexter would be sunbathing outside or playing in the yard but he has been locked inside the house lately.

Why? Well, Robert's house was burglarized two weeks go.  The burglars came through the open sliding door and took three of his guitars and a amplifier.

Where was Dexter then?  Well, he was taking a nap in the bedroom with Robert.  The door was closed.  So the burglars got away.

But fortunately, Robert and Dexter were OK and there was no damage to the house.

But unfortunately, the goldfish paid the price.  This chain of events led to their demise.  It's so unfair!!

What to do?  Robert and I got some chicken wire to make a protective netting for the pond.  We also installed security lights to deter future burglars and the raccoon (sorry, we really think it's you).

I hope the two goldfish will feel better about coming up again.  It must have been a traumatic event having your little world disturbed.  Very much like how the burglars invaded Robert's house and violated his space.

Can't bring back the poor fish just like Robert will most likely not be able to recover his guitars.  The only thing that we can do is to secure the place to minimize risks.

Scary how one thing leads to another.  We will never know how people's action will impact the next event which will in turn impacts some other people's (or animals) lives.  Some may turn out good, some bad.  This time: bad. 

RIP, little goldfish...

It's June! Don't Tell Me So.

Ugh, can't believe May is over.  What happened?


We didn't even have Spring. It seems to have rained on and off since October/November... we are still in winter.  Will Summer ever come?


Besides this strange weather, what happened to TIME?  Didn't we just start the new year?  It's almost half over. Before long, holidays will be here (and the rain season) AGAIN!!