It amazes me how much patience a dog has.

We landed at a camping site north of Lake Superior on the Ontario side, and a squirrel ran by. The dogs, of course, wanted to chase it.

While we got the campsite ready, we leashed the dogs – keeping the squirrel population safe.

Forty-five minutes later, with no sighting of the squirrel, we let the dogs off-leash. The second we were free, they sprinted to the tree the squirrel was hiding in, and circled its base. The squirrel remained safe, but our dogs were doing their duty and protecting us from this scary forest monster.

Before being let off-leash, the dogs sat waiting by the picnic table, pretending they weren’t interested in anything. Did they trick us? Is it their nature to be strategic? . . . Or, were they resigned to being on a leash and saw no point in reacting until they were free?

Your guess is as good as mine.

I love the entertainment a dog provides our family!