Oji the Killer Dog

I arrived home as I usually do, and came inside to greet my loyal, wag-tailed beast. Oji was excited to see me, and there's nothing like seeing the unconditional love in your dog's eyes..."You came back! I knew you wouldn't leave forever!! Pet me! Pet me! Pet me!!" I can only imagine what it will be like when I'm a parent...just a few more months for that part...but I digress.

So, after some pets and hugs and licks (Oji can't hold his licker), we went to the back door to go run around in the backyard. Oji burst out onto the porch, and surprised a small group of doves. I watched as they flew up, but only one actually left the yard. The other two, startled, seemed unable to get away, and I watched as Oji pounced on one.

I grabbed him by the collar and led him away as I tried to figure out why they hadn't flown off. Surely he's not that fast to catch a bird...As it turns out, they were just fledglings, who's mom brought them out for a flying lesson.

So, I took Oji inside, and went to corral the one bird that still seemed to be in the yard. I scooped it up with a box, and brought it to the front porch. I then let Oji back into the yard while I ran across the street to our neighbor's house. Tom's a smart guy, and his kids are all animal lovers; the oldest girl works at the pet shop near our Vet's office, and I figured she might know something. Well, they weren't home. So, returning back to the house, I left the bird on the front porch again.

Heading back into the backyard, I found Oji happily mouthing something that looked at first like a small chunk of wood. As I got closer, I saw that it was actually the other little bird. So, I grabbed him again and brought him back into the house while I disposed of the now deceased bird.

I noticed that Tom's wife and their oldest daughter were outside their house at that point, and headed across the street with the box and the stunned bird. Its tailfeathers had been ripped out, and it was bleeding a little bit. The daughter, who had once rehabilitated another dove, brought out a cage, and gently put the little guy inside. She said she'd keep an eye on it, and nurse it back to a point where it could survive on its own.

So, another clue drops into place regarding Oji's parentage. He apparently is definitely Schnauzer, and the Vet mentioned that she knew of a litter of Schnauzer and German Shorthaired Pointer puppies that Oji resembles. He does have a tendancy to point when he's interested in something, and the way he took off after those birds I think just about confirms it.

We're still not going to encourage his hobby of killing birds, though.