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Everywhere we went Tecumseh was one of the most amiable dogs you
could ever want to meet. He was friendly, cordial, and you
wouldn't think he had enough ferociousness in him to kill a
mosquito. But he also had an uncanny intelligence, and he could
do the unexpected when he felt it was appropriate. There was a
grade school down the street from us. In the back of the building
was a large field, used as a playground, a football field, a
softball field, or any other activity worthy of a hundred
students hollering and running about. Occasionally, after all
the students had left and gone home, we would stop there. I
primarily went there to shoot a few baskets, but always treated
Tecumseh to a little recreation as well. The field had a high
cinderblock wall seperating it from the backyards that
surrounded its perimeter. One
delightful evening, with the sun resting low on the horizon, as
we casually strolled through the grass, a
figure suddenly and suspiciously dropped into the schoolyard from one of
those private residences. Uncharacteristic of Tecumseh, he
charged the fellow, angrily barking and growling, while
the character in question came to a sudden halt and threw his
hands up into the air as if he already had extensive experience
with police dogs. I called Tecumseh off and asked the stranger
what he was doing. He admitted he had been burglarizing the
adjacent home
and plead with me not to tell anyone. He said that he was out on
parole and that if I told anyone he would go back to jail.
Feeling more sympathetic for the neighbors than I did for the
burglar, I immediately walked across the street to a pay phone
and called the county sheriff. It took the sheriff five or ten
minutes to get there, and by that time the thief was long gone.
That was the only time I have ever seen Tecumseh growl at
anyone, demonstrating that, despite his amiable personality, he
could be a quality watch dog when he sensed that something was
wrong.
It's only too bad I didn't carry a pair of handcuffs. With
Tecumseh standing there as my threat, the burglar probably would
have allowed me lock his wrists together behind his back. But what would I have
done next? After all, I never had quite enough vision to teach Tecumseh to
go
fetch the sheriff for me.
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