Isn’t it ironic?

I’m pretty sure it is, but ever since that stupid Alanis Morissette song, my idea of irony has been clouded. It isn’t really ironic to have a black fly in your chardonnay, just unfortunate. But that’s a different post altogether.

What I really want to tell you about is our dog’s new fear: mockingbirds.

Why is that ironic, you say; well because our dog is named for Scout, the protagonist of the greatest American novel, To Kill a Mockingbird (which celebrates its 50th year in publication this year). In the novel, Scout is taught by her father, Atticus, that it’s a sin to shoot a mockingbird because all they do is sing…a great lesson about true innocence.

A few days ago, I took Scout out behind our townhouse to do her business. She loves to run around back there, always hoping to catch a bird or a rabbit. While she was sniffing around under a tree, she was dive-bombed by a mockingbird. I didn’t see the bird at first, but I was pretty sure that she was scared as she quickly ran over to me and Miles for protection. A few minutes later, she was going to her usual spot to do her business, when that bird flew down low again to scare her, and then sat on the telephone wire above her head, mocking her.

Ever since then, she refuses to run to her usual spot. She stays very close to me or Chris, always checking over her shoulder for the bird. The bird that now follows her every time she goes out.

Not the greatest picture, but you can see the mockingbird sitting on the telephone wire.

 

This isn’t the first case of Scout being a little scared of things. In fact, in a true case of irony according to Chris, our next dog will be brave, but be named Chicken. He always reminds Scout that “Chicken won’t be scared of that, Scout.”