Easter morning peeked over the horizon onto a sleeping world. The dawn promised a gloriously shiny day for egg hunting, Easter dress wearing, and rejoicing. The large dog padded quietly from his station at the end of his master's bed. Stepping into the hallway, he tuned his keen senses toward the closed bedroom door to his left and located the familiar slumber sounds of his girl Kalen. Quickly determining that all was well with his people, he moved silently down the stairway to the lower level of the house.
More of habit than necessity, he patrolled the first floor- first the family room, then the dining room, and veered into the kitchen. He paused briefly to lap a drink of water from the ceramic bowl sitting on the floor. Next, he moved down the long line of kitchen cabinets and into the laundry room. A fleeting memory of sleeping there when he was a pup played across his mind as he ducked his large frame to exit the well-used doggie door.
Squeak. squeak. The flap of the pet door sang softly as he stepped out into the early morning light. Although it was nearly 100 feet from the doorway where he stood to the brushy undercover at the edge of the woods, everything in the grove ceased to breathe as the mountain of canine inhaled the brisk morning air. They had been alerted by the faint swinging of the flap but it was not enough warning to plan an escape into the deep cover of the thickets.
The dog was keen. He instantly categorized the scents which filtered across the delicate membranes of his nose. He noticed who had passed through his yard last night as well as who may still be within range now. As he filed the information into his large mental storehouse of memories and scents, his black eyes scanned the perimeter.
He exhaled and stepped down three steps until all four feet were standing on the grassy earth. The small ones in the underbrush did not breathe even yet. They knew that his wide smiling mouth contained white jaws which could crush their bones in a single bite. They knew that he was fast, strong, and lethal. He had hunted their kind for many generations. It was the Order and the Way of Nature.
He noted the small ones in the bushes across the yard. He knew the smell of rabbit anywhere. For as long as he could remember, he had enjoyed the exhilaration of chasing them. He particularly enjoyed the primal feelings that surged through him at the end of a hunt. Rage filled him up as he realized that the rabbits had dared to nibble the clover in his master's lawn during the night. Had he not warned them? Had he not proven that this was no place they belonged? Anger rippled across his spine and his hackles raised. A low guttural growl rumbled in his throat.
The rabbits knew from the instinct inherited from their ancestors that the husky was displeased. They knew- each of them- that the time to hide was nearing an end. As if an unheard signal sounded an end to the charade, the rabbits panicked and simultaneously dashed toward the thicket.
Instinct took over and the large dog felt his muscles ripple with power. Then, just before he leaped after the mass exodus of prey, he was tugged by an invisible string. It closed around his heart and tightened like a noose. Rather than race after the rabbits, he sat down on the lawn. The invisible string tugged again and he looked toward the direction it emanated from. As he glanced upward, back toward the house from whence he had come, he noticed the curtain on the upstairs bedroom had been moved aside. There, looking down upon him, was the small round face of Kalen.
She smiled a wide grin and called down from her post, "Oh, you found an Easter Bunny! Good Dog!"
He felt the noose tighten slightly more and obeyed its command. His heart belonged to the girl. He would spare the bunnies today.
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