As Megyn shared last week, Strudwick’s first few weeks at the Jersey shore this summer have been eventful to say the least. So far, he has discovered that turtles and ducks live in the backyard of their rental property and he took an adventurous dip in the nearby bay. Below, we are picking up the story – ahem, saga – where Megyn left off in part I (get caught up here):
…After his perilous swim in the bay, Strud was instantly back at it with the mystery food in the stones and finally I realized what he was doing: He was dining on the leftover crab and clam shells courtesy of the seagulls who, as it turns out, like to kill their prey over our backyard and leave their little carcasses all over. Apparently, this is very bad for dogs because (1) said seafood doesn’t really stay fresh for long in one’s yard and (2) broken clam and crab shells are really not great for one’s intestinal tract.
STRUD, GET BACK INSIDE RIGHT NOW!!!!
You may recall, we recently spent $7,000 on an endoscopy for Strudwick after he ate the wax lips we were putting on our candy corn pumpkin for Halloween, so I am now more cautious about things that lead to dog surgery. Sure enough, Strud got diarrhea the next day and was placed on a pumpkin and rice diet.
I got him inside the house and he then began the incessant, high-pitched barking over and over and over again. Strud has a deep, baritone bark that is great, but he only uses it when he sees another animal. For us, he uses a terribly annoying, sharp, high-pitched stabbing sound that may very well be the most irritating thing we’ve ever heard. And he uses it non-stop when he wants something we are not giving him.
We know the rule about not giving into such a thing, however, so we live with this noise. But since it’s Strud we are talking about, he does not learn or does not believe that it will get him nowhere. As a result, we have innumerable standoffs where he goes on a barking rant and we pretend we are ignoring him but are actually googling “Kristi Noem’s dog camp – any openings?”
Later that week, we had some friends over for a drink in the backyard. After day one, we realized that the fenced-in backyard – the entire reason we had rented this property – was not going to be feasible for Strud, who must be a front yard (all grass) or leash-walked dog. However, with friends going in and out of the sliding back door, he managed to escape… at the most inopportune time.
Just as our resident turtle was attempting to get out of the pool, sticking her long neck out of her shell and trying to climb on the little bricks of egress, Strud saw her, began barking, and immediately ran to the pool steps. The last thing I wanted to see was Strud kill the pregnant turtle who this nice landlord loves so much she put little bricks on her pool steps to help her, so I chased after him.
STRUDWICK! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
By this point, the turtle had pulled its head back under its shell and (wisely) decided that swimming for it was the better option. Would you believe turtles are relatively fast swimmers? This gal was on the move! Unfortunately, Strud too is an excellent swimmer and he leapt into the pool on the hunt for turtle soup. We stood by helpless as he doggy paddled after this terrified turtle swimming for its life yelling, ‘NO! NO! NO!’
At just that moment, the duck flew out of the nearby circle of daisies! Strud’s head jerked to the side, his eyes widened, and, at once, he turned around for the stairs to get out. It’s as though he suddenly remembered, There’s a bird here. The turtle was saved, but the duck and her eggs were now very much in danger.
Our guests joined us as ran after Strud around and around the pool, but Strudwick is fast and was very determined. The duck seemed unsure of what to do. Save her babies or save herself? The sea or the nest? Strud rapidly approached her and she took to the air, wisely deciding like a momma on the troubled aircraft to save herself first and then her children. She flew into the frigid waters and began quacking like her babies’ lives depended on it.
QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK!
Her instincts were exactly right because Strud began running up and down the water line barking at the duck, trying to coax it out of the water and never figured out that eight little unbirthed baby ducks were hiding in the daisies. Finally, we got him by the collar and escorted him back inside.
A day or two after that we had a similar incident and that is when we realized Strud had figured out how to open the sliding doors, which now must remain locked at all times.
Animal Kingdom Update
I do have to share an unfortunate update from the animal kingdom: Later that week, Strud’s sweet sister Thunder – who is allowed in the backyard and who rarely does anything wrong – picked up one of the duck eggs and was walking around with it in her mouth. I wrongly made the decision to tell her to “drop it” because I didn’t want her to crush it.
But she wasn’t going to crush it! I realized too late she was actually caretaking, and, welp, she did as commanded and dropped it on the stone patio where it cracked. The duck eggs are officially down to seven. Sigh. I am a baby duck murderer now. Or maybe it’s more like a baby duck negligent homicide committer because there was no intent.
On a happier note, a baby turtle has arrived! It is living in the pool filter and the nearby bushes.
The circle of life continues! And so does this story. Check back next week for part III of Strud’s Summer Saga.
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