Majestic Eagle or Brutal Killer, Film at Eleven.

This morning while sipping coffee and staring out our kitchen window, I saw a bald eagle, the majestic symbol of our beloved nation, circling over our yard. It was a gorgeous specimen with a brilliant white tail and head with the traditional dark body color. I watched the bird circle a couple of times, I was awestruck by the beautiful and rare sight of the bird of prey soaring above the city of Seattle. And then my belly dropped and a flash of fear bubbled up, a subconscious scream trying to get my attention as I admired the bird. "Oh my god, my dog is outside in the yard!"

My dog, a sweet little Boston terrier, is not slight dog. She is stocky and muscular, but at only 20 lbs, I’m sure that from above she merely looks like a rabbit on steroids. She was sniffing around the yard, smelling the grass for the remnants of her poop that I had picked up the day before, oblivious to the world around her. This is the same dog who didn't see the dead crow next to the sidewalk on our walk yesterday, so I was certain she had no idea the an aerial shark was circling over her head.

As I stepped out onto the back porch I saw the eagle bank and turn back to our yard, it's head pointing down, it's eyes most likely targeting our poor, hapless poop-sniffing pooch. I ran out in the yard and yelled at the dog to go inside, which she did, running past me and through the doorway. I looked up to see if the eagle was in mid-dive but it was gone, vanished from the skies.

When we had taken our dog to puppy school cleverly title puppygarten, the instructor had warned those of us with little dogs to never leave them unattended in the backyard. One of my fellow classmates had raised her hand and offered, "Is that because they our easy to be dognapped by dog thieves?"

The instructor laughed and said, "Well, they are likely to get snatched but it will be more likely from the skies." She contorted her fingers into an imitation of talons, "Although we feel safe from the wilderness here in the city, the skies are still wild and your little ones are no more than prey to certain birds out there." A few of us chuckled at the thought of our pooches being dragged away by some phantom bird. The notion is laughable to those of us who have lived in the city for so long, so sheltered from the wilds except for the occasionally dead raccoon smooshed under tire and left on the side of the road. But, I guess she was right after all.

If you have small dog, remember this story before leaving them out on their own.