Aimee (at Cabrillo Tide Pools)  Acrylic Paint, Medium and Modeling Paste  26" X 19.5"

Not for Sale (Artist private collection)

PUPPY PATROL                                                                                               Jim Anthony

With an anticipation and determination not unlike that of a soldier marching off to battle, Aimee briskly descends the series of stairs from her hillside lair into the soupy mist of the pre-dawn chilly coastal air.  A small white 16-pound Bichon off to her daily duties of food gathering and guarding her people from the nefarious nocturnal scourges of the mischievous feral cats, rats, coons, skunks and opossums that inhabit the community.  She is a lone sentinel in a land of giants maintaining order among the infidels - a dog on a mission.

At a prancing gait, she checks under cars, in stairwells, bushes and around dumpsters with no corner left unsearched. Her sharp senses of sight, hearing and especially smell are on full alert in hopes of catching some pesky critter, red-handed, in one of their acts of malfeasance.  There are few feelings as exhilarating in the morning as the rush of adrenalin and wind in the face while chasing a furry feline or feathered adversary up a tree and barking relentlessly for them to clean up their act.  If not for her master’s restraint, she would most likely rip them to pieces - if she could ever catch one.  Sheena the She-Wolf, her alter ego, would surely do so.  They can run, but not hide, from her.

Onward we proceed to the village greens - the common areas laid claim to by all the canines in this dog-friendly community - to satisfy her instinctive urges.  Once again, she must refresh her territorial markings numerous times reminding others of her existence and to verify her rights as top dog.  Someone apparently forgot to tell her that these particular behaviors are those more typical of her male counterparts. Not that she would really care anyway, for she is a true emancipated bitch.

With her guard duties performed and stake holder claims re-established, it’s time to once again head back to the den for some kibble and rest.  Another successful mission accomplished; the community safe and sound for another doggie day.  Does anyone really appreciate her work?  Maybe she should take a day off and see what transpires without her vigilance.  That would show them, but she is afraid to think of the consequences.  It is a bit too scary for her mind to picture as she begins her morning nap.  She really doesn’t need doggy nightmares disturbing her well earned slumber.