Never have I been so thankful for my dogs ears as I was this morning. 

At 5 am, Kaida got up and started growling/barking, so I got up to take her out thinking she just needed to go potty.  Well, I got her collar and leash on, start to take her out and then I hear another dogs tags jingling.  I get Kaida back inside with a bit of effort then grab a flashlight and broom (it was the closest "weapon" I could find!).  I slowly venture into our backyard as we've had instances of dogs getting back there before.

And that's when I hear it, our neighbors chickens start screeching and flapping their wings like crazy and my stomach drops.  Some neglegent owners dog has gotten into the chicken coop just on the other side of our fence.  I panic and run over and flash the light on the coop and sure enough there's a dog attacking the chickens.  I yell at it and smack the broom against the fence but it didn't even look at me.

Next moment of panic? Run to the neighbors door and try to wake them up to help the poor things.  They didn't answer (well, they did, but after I had already left, I went back an hour later and informed them of the massacre that had happened.)  Having no idea what to do, I dejectedly go back home, crying the whole way and hug Kaida when I get in, praising her for trying to save her friends, and telling her the bad news.  Call me crazy, but I really do think she's was trying to save them from harm, cause when I took her out a little later, she went to the fence and stared into the area where the gals usually were in the morning and just sat down, looking at the emptiness.

I love my dog, and it's so good to know that if anything is amiss with our house, she'll be the first to let us know.