Coyotes in the Basement

Coyotes in the Basement

About a month after we moved into our little farmhouse, my husband called me up from work to let me know that he was bringing home a puppy that night as a surprise for the kids. He had promised them  that we would get a dog once we were settled in. He came home with the tiniest bundle of fur tucked protectively under his arm. The kids were over the moon and after a very short discussion, we named her Susie. Her parentage was questionable, but that really wasn't any concern to the kids. And so, besides still working through the number of boxes that had yet to be opened from our move, the next few months of our lives now had the excitement of raising a puppy, an experience similar to that of raising an infant and then a rambunctious toddler!

But as Susie got older, she began the awful habit of howling in the middle of the night. The first few times it happened, we were understanding and were able to quiet her down after a minute or two. But my husband, who rises at the crack of dawn to drive to work each day, soon had enough and put his foot down. Susie was to sleep in the furnace room, not the kitchen anymore.  He couldn't take it.

Before any of you protest as to how cruel locking a dog up for the night is, it should be noted that our furnace room was large and spacious, with two windows and was the warmest room in the house.  We still heard the occasional howl, but at least it was now slightly muted. Susie's midnight musicals seemed to occur less and less frequently. Life was good.

A few years later, my sister and her family came to stay with us during the summer and our two girls gave up their bedrooms and camped out downstairs in the spare room.  The arrangement seemed to be working. Everyone had their necessary privacy and Susie's bedroom was still the furnace room.

One morning as we were making our way through a very loud and animated breakfast (there were nine of us at the table), my sister sat down and told us about the pack of coyotes that had  howled right in front of their window last night. My husband and I thought it was odd that coyotes would gather directly in front of her window and just assumed she was referring to a pack that had possibly gathered across the road and that their howls appeared to be much closer than they actually were. It wasn't until much later that it dawned on me that the furnace room was directly under the room my sister and her husband were staying in...

It's a good idea to get both a dog and a cat when you have a rural property. Their presence is necessary to keep rodents and animals away. We've never had an issue with mice or raccoons that seem to be the most common complaint when moving out to the country. We're not really as secluded as other homes are, but people know we have two large dogs and their barking at the delivery men and cyclists riding by offers an invaluable sense of protection. Our dogs have the freedom of running around our property and they race into the woods behind our house each morning, chasing rabbits and exploring to their heart's content. I can't imagine raising them in our last  home with its postage stamp backyard. Rural properties are a lot of work. But the freedom and serenity they offer are enjoyed by humans and their four-legged canines alike, even if these canines are mistaken for howling coyotes in the basement.

Lolita Hale