Unusual

Gilbert and Roxy are quiet dogs, not often barking at anything. Of the two, Roxy is more inclined to bark. Unkind people suggest that’s because she’s a bitch and we all know how females like to talk!

When they do bark it sounds quite fearsome – deep, big dog voices warning all and sundry to steer clear. In fact, one delivery company (we have many deliveries) warned their employees that there were dogs at our house. I could hardly explain for laughing that our Labradors love people and would be more likely to smother them in slobbery kisses than attack.

Our first Labrador, decades ago, a rescue dog, once ‘attacked’ my husband. He had arrived home late at night from the streets of Belfast and Whisky was protecting me and our children. She didn’t recognise him and barged him over, thinking him an intruder. When she realised, she was mortified. The only things she ever barked at were ladders and double decker buses.

Anyway, early this morning, while we were still in bed, Gilbert was barking energetically at the patio door. We hadn’t realised he had gone downstairs. I decided later to check the garden camera to try and discover what had set the boy off. 

The playback function has proved useful in the past, but on this occasion, nothing could be seen. Gilbert’s barking, the cries of several birds, and the trees and shrubs swaying in the breeze were all captured on film, but the cause of Gilbert’s alarm remains a mystery. 

Heron, rat, fox, squirrel? Who knows?