The Misadventures of Mr. Roo

Mr. Roo is what I fondly call the three White Leghorn Roosters we have. I can't tell them apart, so they are simply Mr. Roo.  Anyway, we have a beautiful white large breed dog, Daize, that we have been told is a bulldog. She is going on two years old. I have had her since she was a pup.

So, in an attempt to keep my dog and my chickens, we had been letting the roosters roam free and keeping watch.  After an hour, we became complacent and wasn't watching diligently.  I petted Daize and praised her for not attacking Mr. Roo.  I turned and went back to my weeding.  Seconds latter, I heard Mr. Roo squawking and screaming from under the back deck and Daize was no where to be seen.

While yelling at Daize to stop, I ran to the deck and hesitantly peeked under.  There was Daize with what appeared to be Mr. Roo under her paws.  The squawking had ceased, so I feared the worst.  Mr. Roo had gone to the big chicken coop in the sky and he wasn't even big enough to put in the cook pot yet.

My husband looked under the deck and my worst fears were unfounded.  Mr. Roo had mysteriously disappeared without a trace and no noise as to his whereabouts.  Was he dead?   Had Daize packed him off somewhere?   There was no blood on Daize's mouth.

Daize, having been thoroughly scolded, had tucked her tail and ran off to hide and would not come back.  I attempted several times to get her to come to her kennel, but she refused.  I was standing on the deck pointing at the kennel, trying to get Daize to obey when she stopped and looked at the corner of the house in the grass and then ran off again.  I realized Mr. Roo must be there in the tall grass at the corner of the house.  Sure enough, there he was, or at least his body was there.  I could see no head, but I couldn't see any blood either.  He wasn't moving, just deadly still.  I couldn't bear to check, so  I called my husband over and turned my back.  I just knew Mr. Roo was headless. 

However, to our amazement, Mr. Roo was unharmed, just hiding in the tall grass being perfectly still and silent.  I was so relieved.  We will continue to try to acclimate the animals to one another.  Because if one of them has to go, unfortunately, it will be my baby Daize.  That thought breaks my heart.