Sally the African Hunting Dog (wannabe)

after being cooped up at home for two days due to rainy weather, Sally was a nervous wreck. we decided to bring her down for a long walk after returning home from CNY visiting.

we brought her to an open field behind my block. the field was huge, about the size of 2 soccer fields. usu there are people flying kites but thankfully it was deserted due to the coming rain storm. we let Sally run off-leash to let her expend all her pent-up energy. before u knew it, Robina received a phone call from her colleague, Angela who's living across the road. she spotted us from her living room window. we were invited to go to her place and let her daughter play with Sally. we didn't let Sally go into Angela's place since Sally was slightly damp and muddy. it was quite funny to see Angela (she's afraid of dogs) while her hubby and 3-yr old daughter luv to play with dogs. after a round of MS-sing (mister or miss sociable) with Angela's family and even their neighbour, we left to bring Sally to walk around the neighborhood.

before returning home to hose down Sally, we let her off for another round of running in the field. Sally, despite being a lap dog and well-pampered pooch, was off like a lightning blot chasing after pippits (a small brown bird common in grassy fields). they fly very low and drop back into the grass after a short distance. for some reason, Sally really hates birds, ranging from mynahs, crows and even egrets. now she's going after the pippits with a vengence. she was sprinting at full gallop, sometimes even with four short pudgy legs off the ground. her floppy ears streaming in the wind, flapping behind her. she will twist and turn, trying to corner the birdies. but the birds did not co-operate. as one drop out out sight, another will take off after being flushed by Sally. soon Sally was chasing after an endless stream of birds. her chase brought her in a series of crazy zig-zags and loops around the field. she had a good run, oblivious to Robina and me calling her back to us.

I managed to catch hold of Sally after she was totally exhausted and can barely trot. her tongue nearly reached the ground. we brought her for a stroll to let her cool down before bringing her home to bathe the muddy pooch.

here's Sally recovering from her chase...