Sunday was a beautiful day here in central Texas. We’ve been having highs in the low 80s, which makes for pretty good pool weather, especially considering it is December. So as I took my morning brunch of fresh endive on my pool table, how was I to know the terror that awaited me just a few hours in the future? Who could have guessed such a glorious day could turn so horrifying?

After brunch I got out of my pool and raced to the back porch, just like I always do. After a swim in that cold water, I need a little run to warm me up. Do you see how happy I look? What a carefree, clueless capybara I was!

Do you see the way my hair is standing up on my neck in the photo above? That means I am SCARED! Coral and her friend Jen and Jen’s dog Periscope, aka Peri, came over. I like Coral well enough…or I did. I should have known not to trust her! How can she have a friend who has a dog? And how could she let that dog come here? Dogs are about the most frightening things alive!

I thought I was safe in my pool. Capybaras are semi-aquatic but dogs are terrestrial. There’s safety in the water.

But look what happened! Peri got in the pool! She only stood on the pool table but still! Doesn’t she look poised to jump in and kill me? You can see that Coral is absolutely no help here! And Melly was up on the ladder taking photos! TAKING PHOTOS! For the love of Caplin, why didn’t she put a stop to this? And the whole thing happened when my Rick was away. I bet he would have protected me!

I needed to get to safety and the safest place I know is under the little ladder on the far side of the pool. I steeled my nerves and swam right under that killer dog! Melly says dogs can’t swim underwater but I just can’t trust what she says. She also said Peri would not hurt me. And she forces me to take that awful medicine twice a day. No, Melly cannot be trusted.

After a while, Peri got out and I went over to my little feeding table so that I could keep an eye on her. She had some strange fascination with the tortoises. Dogs are dumb.

They’re dumb, but still killers.

After a few minutes of tortoise watching, Peri came back to the pool. See that person in the background? That is Peri’s owner, Jen. I am glad Jen had Peri on a leash or I am sure she would have killed me. You can see her fangs in that photo. Dogs are always showing you their fangs so you know what they’re thinking.

I had to make another dash for the protection of my ladder when Peri started to climb into the pool again.

I made it to relative safety. Melly held my paw and told me everything was okay. Do you understand now why I don’t trust her?

After a while Peri decided to get out and check on the tortoises again. I was tired so I went to my pool table but after just a few moments she was back. Do you see her snarling at me? Melly and Jen said she was being friendly. Did they really not see it was a trap?

Oh yeah, sure. She just wants to play. Have you seen what happens to dog toys? They don’t look too good after awhile, do they? When Peri started to get back in, I made a dash for my ladder again. It is hard to swim while looking over your shoulder to make sure a dog isn’t going to kill you.

Finally Peri, Coral and Jen all got in Coral’s car and drove off. What a relief. But I wasn’t about to let my guard down. I spent the next hour sitting on the top of my hay stairs ready to jump into the pool if I needed to.

I got hungry sitting up there. Luckily Melly took some scissors and a bucket and cut me some grass from my grass pasture. That is so much more civilized than me having to go out there and eat it off the ground. I’m starting to appreciate a little grass in the evening.