Angie, I know you are a Bird Dog, But...

This happened right after our trail ride. I was grooming Milo and loving on him when suddenly I hear a frantic peeping near the front of the barn. I turned around and saw Angie mouthing and pawing at a tiny barn swallow.

"Angie! NO! Drop it!" I screamed to her, ducking the cross ties and racing towards her.

The now wet and sad looking bird plopped out of her mouth, landing on the cold concrete. I sat there for a moment and as I walked towards it, it tried to flutter away, but couldnt seem to. I bent down to look closely at it. It looked injured, but no blood could be seen.

It kept holding it's neck to the side, I think Angie damaged it.

Angie began to whimper and crept in closer. Again, I yelled at her and shooed her off.

Poor Angie though, in her mind, it's what she is supposed to do. See bird, get bird, be rewarded. But Angie, you dont get to go after every bird you see, just those that are shot (and typically of much larger size). These little barn swallows though are just too small, even for Angie's bird soft mouth.

Just this last summer Angie killed a bird in our front yard. It too was small and I'm sure she didnt meant to kill it (she certainly didnt eat it). But still. Sigh. I guess there is no hope of keeping a chicken or two on the property. She would most definitely go after those too.

I started to feel a little bad. A little bad for the barn swallow, and a little bad for Angie, who kept looking from me, to the bird, and back again. She didn't understand why I wasnt happy with her efforts. I scratched her ears and directed her to not go for the bird again, which she didnt, and continued my business with Milo. I hoped the bird would hide under the sink and heal itself.

It was dead the next day.