We have to keep Mochi inside on Mondays, until the garbage man has come and gone, because he’s deathly afraid of dogs, and Mochi barks at strangers. She’s never bitten anyone, and once you make friends with her, something which can be done in a single encounter, she’s a very loving dog.

Our yard is fenced, $3,100 worth of fence . . . and Mochi soon figured out that she can jump high enough to scramble over the corner of the gate. She runs across the road, into the Daniel Boone National Forest, to chase only the Lord knows what, she runs down to the river and the pond, to get muddy and wet, and our 8 acres are not nearly enough; her ‘territory’ is about 20 acres.

She’s a horrible dog: she wants to chase cars, and steal food off your plate. She’s the ultimate guard dog, because nothing can approach the house without her letting us know about it. But she also wants to cuddle, and we love her.

Robert Stacy McCain wrote about his dog here.