Intruder Alert....Intruder alert!

Den of the Beastly Bear

Hi Folks!

Back in the early days of our marriage, before Princess Bear came along, our "baby" was our Australian Shepherd, Tasha.

As I have casually mentioned in previous posts that Tasha was perhaps the smartest dog I've ever seen. She seemed to almost understand English, and had a vast "vocabulary".

For instance, if you had four of her toys and had her "sit and stay" at your feet then threw each toy in a different direction. When asked she would bring you a specific toy, knowing and remembering what her "Froggie" was and in what direction you threw it! She would then repeat, bringing you only what you asked for until you had them all!

When we gave her a bath as a puppy, she quickly learned that the spout in the tub produced water.

From then on, at bedtime each night she would hop into the tub, lick the spout and look at me expectantly.

As if to say "You know what I want...come on!"

Tasha had bonded with me, a little more than my wife and when I would go out of town overnight for work she would "act out" and drive my wife nuts! Though she did drive Kathy nuts, I never had a worry for Kathy's safety as Tasha was fiercely protective of her.

As she would later be of our daughter.

One night while I was in Chicago for work, our friend and neighbor across the street, Debbie suggested she and Kathy go and grab dinner out.

Upon their return, they parted ways in the driveway.

As Kathy walked into the house, the first thing she noticed was "No Tasha"! This was unusual as Tasha always met us at the door.…first red flag!

Worried, she called for her...nothing! Second red flag!

So she went to look for her.

As she started walking down the hall, she heard something...water running....bathtub water running!

Then she noticed the bathroom door was closed, and the light was on!!! THIRD RED FLAG!!!

HOLY SHIT SOMEONE WAS IN THE HOUSE, AND THEY WERE RUNNING A BATH!!!

Out of the house she ran, across the street to Debbie's to tell her we had an intruder!!!

Now, did these two young women call the police?!?

Nooooooo, they decide to go and investigate themselves!

Arming themselves with an aluminum baseball bat kept by the door, they crept down the hallway, ready to fight or run as the situation demanded. As they reached the bathroom door, they heard water splashing as well as the running water. Whoever it was, WAS IN THE TUB!!!

Readying themselves for battle, they raised the bat and threw open the door!

And stood in stunned disbelief, there was no intruder!

Instead what they saw was this:

The tub, filled to overflowing had actually spilled over and there were 2" of standing water on the floor.

Tasha, completely soaked...was having the time of her life jumping in and out of the tub like she had invented the greatest game EVER!!!

The danger over, the girls laughed with relief and attempted to figure out what was going on.

As she turned off the water, she noticed there were teeth marks on the taps, BOTH taps!!! She must have got warm water first, then turned on the other tap as well. When she had jumped into the tub, there had been a towel draped over the edge which she must have knocked accidently into the tub, which acted to plug the drain enough for the tub to fill. Kathy then remembered she'd used the bathroom and checked her makeup before leaving and must have left the light on.

How the door got closed...still a mystery, and the only one that knew wasn't talking!

For the 16 years we had her in our lives, there was rarely a dull moment...many stories to share!!!

With the extreme cold we are experiencing this week, just a reminder to please bring your pets in, and watch them when you let them out!

Be Well Folks!

Beastly Bear