To Make Up For It, Part 2 (Or How Not to Love Your Neighbor on Christmas Eve)

Read part 1 first. :)

So I rounded the house on the east, where there was now NO dog and NO chickens. Our dog in her kennel continued to bark, facing toward the chicken coop, to the west. Here, like this:

I jogged toward the northwest corner of the backyard - to the coop. Most of the chickens were in front (eastward) of their coop, clucking nervously, but I didn't see any marauding canine. Our dog, in her kennel, continued to bark. I jogged back toward her, and considered letting her out, because she seemed more likely to find the intruder. I thought twice though; not wanting to shoot at anything (if I had to) with her in the mix. Where did that beast go??? Perhaps it had left, circling the west side of the house as I had come around the east? I jogged that direction, and stood at the east corner of the house, looking down the driveway for movement or any sign that the animal had left. I was momentarily glad we had no neighbors within viewing-distance - I was sure I made quite a sight; frilly half-apron flapping in the breeze, worn slippers, shotgun in hand, chest heaving from the freezing air... and bits of thread and sewing-fallout all over me I'm sure.

Maybe I heard something, or maybe I just turned around, but I saw The Critter running along the chicken house, towards me (though probably 100 feet away still) with one of my hens in its mouth!!! "Oh no you don't...!" It saw me as it came alongside the playhouse, turned in front of it, dropped the hen, and went racing across the backyard toward the swingset the way it had come. I thought very little, except that I didn't want to shoot my chickens or my dog, and that I had better do it before he was out of sight on the other side of the house. I raised the gun, aimed just in front of him, tracked him until our kennel wasn't behind him (from my perspective) and... <<<boom>>>...






To be continued...