Beau : Chapter 2 : A Cat-Herding Dog

Late one night I let the dogs out for one last romp and pee in the back yard. The light was dim from the house and I could just make out their black shapes moving about in the darkness, except for Yogi of course, who is mostly white. Then I heard a meow behind me. I turned and there he was, Tommy the tubby gray tiger cat, strolling out of the basement door. At this time, the cats were restricted to the indoors. We had just moved to this house, on a busy highway, and we didn't want to risk losing our cats to tire treads.

Anyway, here I am in the dark back yard at midnight with 6 busy dogs and 1 loose cat. One wily loose cat. I scooted over to pick him up, but he darted away, with more speed and agility than his rotund body might suggest, his dainty paws scurrying under his fluffy round self. I called his name, hoping he'd come to me, but he just kept moving into the darkness, tail held high, rear end winking back at me.

I called the dogs in and they all came swooping by me and into the basement and I counted tails, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, while I tried to keep an eye on the cat in the yard. I would have to stumble out into the darkness and try to catch him. "Tommy!" I yelled, then remembered it was midnight, and I had neighbors who already disapproved of my menagerie. I would have to try to outstealth a cat. "Tommy," I sang, hoping to lure him to me. This was stupid, and I knew it, the cat would come or he would not come, but only the cat would decide. Stupid human. Beau had ambled back out of the basement and paused next to me while I called softly a few more times and grumbled to myself, "damn cat, stupid Tommy." At those words Beau looked straight up at me, then out into the dark yard, then back at me. "Oh, you want that cat? Why didn't you say so?" And off he loped into the darkness, heading straight for a murky gray shape at the base of a tree. "BEAU!" I yelled, then shut myself up. Shaking my head and picturing Beau chasing Tommy clear over the fence, I quickly closed the basement door before the rest of the pack came tumbling out, then turned to look for Beau and Tommy.

The yard was murky, I couldn't see anything. Then Beau's form took shape again, loping along the back fence, then stopping suddenly. I could just make out his fur gleaming in the dim light. He was standing still and pointing his nose at a fuzzy gray shape on the ground. The fuzzy gray shape bobbed away, and Beau bounded after it, made an end run around it, and stopped again, pointing. Then he swung his big head up toward me again and I could see his white teeth smiling. Beau was herding the cat! Holding him for me. Good Beau! I grinned.

I made my way carefully across the dark yard. I'm clumsy in the daylight, walking on smooth surfaces, walking across a sloping yard pitted with dog-dug holes and branches and dog toys was intimidating. But Tommy still squatted, obviously annoyed, and Beau still held the cat in his gaze. I approached Tommy, and he scooted quickly right by me. Just as quickly Beau loped around me and the cat, turned and held him with his eyes. The cat's ears pressed back against his skull and he turned and ran the other way, in his ridiculous little mincing steps, followed immediately by Beau, with his great long strides.

After a few more turns, Tommy gave up and allowed me to heft his fatness up into my arms.
"Good dog, Beau!" I whispered, "what a good boy!" Beau bounced merrily at my side, bounce, bounce, bounce! What a good dog, a cat herding dog.