Call the dogs!

We have always told the kids if anything scares them, like if they run into a cougar / bear / wolf (all common enough here), the very first thing you do is call for the dogs. Same thing if you get hurt and can't make your way back in...especially if it's cold outside. The dogs will lie with you and keep you warm at the very least, and they will likely be able to get someone's attention.

When we had the two big livestock guardian dogs outside, you could be guaranteed they would get between any of us and any predator. It's what they were bred to do. Even Caleb, goofy companion that he is, would bark like mad and probably take on whatever it might be... Though his chances against anything large are nowhere near as good as Bob or Mac's would have been. But he'd try. And he'd raise a ruckus that would bring help. 

I've been having a lot of bad dreams lately. A friend told me that when her son had nightmares, she told him to call the dog in his dream... He had a big, loving protective canine best friend, and this strategy worked. 

I doubted I'd have enough lucidity to manage this... Lucid dreaming is something I've only managed a few times. 

Then the awful nightmare hit last night, and my instinctive reaction to the terror was to call the dogs! I called for Dax, the Akita who loved me through the loss of my daughter and the collapse of my previous life, the dog who would have done anything to protect me. I called, and she came... I called for Ben, too, not wanting to leave him behind and needing his company... And I realized I was dreaming and told Dax to get us out of there and help me wake up. She led off down the hallway, away from the awful things I had seen. 

And I woke up. 

All the way. And Ben was right there to lick my hand and confirm that I'd found reality. 

I went and made hot chocolate. Ben came with me. 

Thanks Ben.

Thanks Dax. 

You guys can bring Bob and Mac and Duggan along any time you feel like we need the whole pack. 

Together we can take on anything. 

I'll call you.