A few mornings ago, I let Clara out in the backyard at about 7:00.  Usually, I come back in and fix my coffee while she does her business.  On this morning, however, I didn’t see Clara doing her usual sniff-and-search technique over every square inch of the yard, trying to find THE perfect spot to squat.  So I went out to check on her, and the above photo shows what I found.

Clara was frozen, staring at a neighborhood cat, who had just been trying to fish out one of the goldfish that live in our little, pathetic pond.

“Get ‘im, Clara!” I uttered.  Nothing.  Frozen.

Finally, after about a minute, Clara decides to inch a little closer.

This greatly concerned the cat.

Eventually the cat yawned or stretched or something, which spooked Clara, and she came tearing back up to the deck.  Right after this, the real dogs who live in back of us came outside, and the cat fled.

Clara then very bravely went and thoroughly sniffed the area where the cat had been sitting.

And then, hallelujah, she finally peed.

Guard dog? No.

Goofball?  Yes.

At least she’s cute.