Lions and Tigers and Bears!

When Mom and I went on our walk this afternoon, she decided to bring the camera along because we are leaving Arizona soon, and Mom seems to like to take pictures of places that she won't see for a few months. Fine by me. When Mom has the camera, it usually means that there will be lots of pictures of ME!!!!

So, I was surprised when not even a quarter mile into the walk, Mom jumps about six feet sideways, yanks me with her, makes me sit, and then whips out the camera.



Oh.

Oh.

Oh crap! That thing ratttles!!!! MOM!!!! Let's get Out Of Here!

*ahem.

Mom snapped off a few pictures before telling me that we were going to walk In The Middle Of The Road for the rest of the walk. Okay. Fine by me. While I like investigating the rabbits and the lizards that I see out on the road, I'm not so keen on those slidey things that rattle. No Thank You.

So, off we go.



I love this sight, because it means we are going up the Closed Road. Which means that I can walk all over the road, chase rabbits (to the extent that my leash will let me), look at the water, and not have to worry about cars. It is Heaven.

As you can see from the waves, there was a pretty stiff south wind.



Which led to Serious Ear Flappage.



I honestly feel sorry for dogs that don't have ears that can flap. *cough*German Shepards*cough* Fr'instance. If you don't have ears that flap, how can you possibly enjoy all that being a dog has to offer?!?

Mom wants me to insert a scenery photo. Fine.



But there was more Ear Flappage. Which is lots of fun!



And. Then.

On the way back down the road. (After I had stopped to look at scenery...)



We. Saw. Another. Snake.

ANOTHER. SNAKE!!!!

This time, Mom did NOT whip out her camera, as this snake was a tad bit closer and slithered off into the bushes Quite Quickly, while Mom was still Panicking. Me? I was cool as a cucumber. But I heard this thing rattle. I Do. Not. Like. Snakes. Especially. Ones. That. Rattle.

After that, we took off at a brisk pace (ears flapping quite heavily in the wind) and went home.

And then Mom got on the internet and found this:

What to do if your dog is bitten by a rattlesnake

Because TaiChi is so old (and don't forget, venerable, with magical powers), we always have antibiotics on hand. And Mom and Dad have promised me that they will get me vaccinated for next fall.

Not that I plan on chasing any rattlesnakes, thankyouverymuch. I promise to stay away from them if they stay away from me.

*whew. I think that I'm looking forward to the mountains!