Neighborhood Watch

It is a well known fact that, if not carefully monitored, a previously good neighborhood can easily morph into one that is considered on the "wrong side of the tracks."

Now, I personally feel that, besides being Head of Security inside the house, it is my responsibility to keep an eye on the neighborhood and report any odd happenings I might see to my humans and the other neighboring dogs.  As a result of years of practice, the neighborhood dogs and I have a very sophisticated alert system.  Let me explain.  When I see something, I bark and alert Hank, the Beagle across the street, who starts howling as only Beagles can, and Honey the Yellow Lab next door.  Hank's howls alert Biscuit the on the other side of the street while Honey passes the message on to the short little scruffy black dog living next to her.  Needless to say, within minutes, provided it isn't supper time or nap time, my message can spread from one end of town to the other.

Anyway, back to protecting the neighborhood.

I noticed them as soon as Sister let me outside; a couple of suspicious characters standing in the yard across the street.  For a moment, I stared in disbelief at their brazenness--they just stood there, one grazing on the grass and the other staring me down.  Well, I couldn't stand for that--"See something, say something" is my motto--so I charged the fence barking hysterically.  But the interlopers didn't move a muscle.  Then Hank started howling followed by Biscuit (Honey never alerted her side of the street...I guess it was her dinner time).  No change.  I was just about to start another round of barking when I heard Sister laughing behind me.

Glowing interlopers

"You silly boy," she said to me as she gave me a pat on my side and rubbed my ear, "those reindeer aren't going to hurt you.  They're just Christmas decorations!"

I admit, on closer inspection, those suspicious characters were indeed harmless Christmas decorations (unlike those scary blow up Halloween decorations that I'm sometimes afraid to walk by because the wind makes them move).  Still, despite sounding a false alarm, I still contend that one must be ever vigilant to maintain a neighborhood's integrity.  You never know when your town might come under attack.

Do these guys look suspicious?