W oof! I feel like I need to warn all the other Lake Anna four-leggers—and the two-leggers too—about something that’s been happening here at the lake. It’s kind of scary and exciting at the same time. It always happens at night, when it’s dark outside. That’s when they come out of the woods.

They’re four-leggers, but not like me. These critters don’t live in a cozy pack-den the way I do. They live out there, deep in the trees. How do I know they’re around? The smells! Every morning, the yard is full of brand-new scents that tell me exactly who visited overnight. I patrol the whole perimeter, collecting every one, piecing together the story of what happened while we slept.

Some smells I know instantly—like those tall, skinny four-leggers with the little white tails. I smell them all the time. Sometimes they even wander right into my yard. When that happens, my pack-mom usually lets me out, and I chase them straight back into the woods. (I’ve never caught one. They’re woofin’ fast.)
One time, a critter that looked a lot like me showed up. But he didn’t smell like me at all. He was red with a big, bushy tail. My pack-dad wouldn’t let me play with him. I haven’t seen him in a while, but I still catch his scent now and then. I think he marked my yard with his pee-smells. No big deal—I just peed right on top and claimed it back. (This is my yard.)

We also get some slow-moving critters. Once, there was a really small four-legger. When I got close, his legs and head sucked right into his body! I picked him up gently in my mouth, and he was as hard as a rock. I carried him around for a bit—he had a very strange smell. Eventually, my pack-dad took him and released him back in the woods. I was kind of sad. I wanted to keep him as a friend.

Sometimes my pack-mom takes me on “double-you-a-el-kays.” (That’s how the two-leggers say it, but I know it really means a walk!) We go close to the woods and I can smell animals everywhere. Some of those scents are a little scary. When I catch one of those, I stick pretty close to my pack-mom.

I love collecting smells and matching them to the critters who left them. Most of all, I look forward to going outside every morning, when the fresh scents tell the whole story of the night before.

Jim McCoy