A face only Dan could love.

I am most certainly a cat person. Dogs have always eluded me. Sure I can appreciate their attributes. They're cute, loyal, smart, and all that. But, I just haven't been able to really love a dog.

And after yesterday, I'm pretty certain I will never, ever love a dog.

You see, we have (well, had) a sick chicken. She's been not feeling well for some time. And it became obvious to me that she needed some real TLC when she hobbled into the coop for the night only to get chased under the feed box by the other chickens. Poor thing. She could hardly even jump the four inches up into the coop.

So, yesterday, with the help of my dad and Ana, we construncted a nice hospital bed for her in one of our barns. Just three sides of wood about 2 feet high, enough to keep out the predators and to keep her in. We lined the floor with soft, clean straw. And Ana gathered some rotten tomatoes for her to feast on. She seemed to really dig her new quarters. So, we headed back inside the house for a bit.

An hour later, Dad and Ana went outside to climb some trees. I heard Ana excited say, "Mom, come here! The chicken fell down!"

What? I thought. How did the chicken get all the way to the house?

I poked my head out the door. And there, by Lucy's "post" (ie under the bush by our door) was the poor little chicken, turned chew toy for Lucy.

What crazed creature hunts down a poor sick chicken just to play with it? You can imagine my state.

When Dad saw me, he sternly said, "Now Joy, you can't be mad at Lucy. She's just a dog."

"I'm not mad at Lucy," I explained, hands in fists. "I'm mad ABOUT Lucy."

For Lucy's sake, it's a really good thing Dan has a special place in his heart for canines.