photo taken November 2016

I’m going through major anxiety right now, because I’ve started leaving Charlie outside for periods of time – he loves it and needs it and I can’t be out there watching him all day long, but I am a nervous wreck. I despise eagles and scan the skies praying they don’t come around here – I went through an eagle-hating phase when Eli was a kitten too. Charlie’s good about staying in one area of the draw where he has a mud hole to play in and a little tamarask tree for shade and tall grass to jump around in, and I check on him so often it’s almost neurotic.

One time when I was watching him from the top of the draw, the horses wandered into the canyon from over the hill. Charlie ran up the draw and straight to the cabin door – he’s scared of the horses – which made me feel better, like he knows this is home and safety. Sometimes, I put him on a long tether for a short period of time, but it still doesn’t ease my anxiety about the whole thing, so usually I end up grabbing my laptop and sitting in the grass with him.

Charlie is a mini coyote now in every way – the soft downy dome of his head is the last trace of baby about him. His eyes were pale blue when he was a baby, and they turned a bright turqouise-teal, then green, then olive, and now they are yellow coyote eyes.

I’m amazed by how GOOD Charlie is. He’s great in the car, and on our long walks he follows me without a leash. He trots along behind me and it’s just the cutest thing in the universe. Sometimes he wanders off to sniff at things but then looks around for me and races back over.

I wonder if this will continue as he gets older. I love the freedom Charlie has without a leash, but in the past few days he’s gotten so fast that he could outrun me if he chose to, and I wonder if independence will trump his child-like obedience when he gets big enough to chase rabbits. We shall see. I use a leash about a third of the time just so Charlie gets used to it and learns what a leash means while I am still stronger than he is!

My concern doesn’t stem from him running away, but from him being seen without me by his side and getting shot from the road. I am not exaggerating when I say that coyotes are the antichrist here and are shot on sight. This is part of the reason he has a collar – in hopes that it will deter the trigger happy.