"Dogs never lose their voice," he thought as he looked out once again to see Madison was at the end of his rope, straining to make friends with two very saucy squirrels. The creatures stood unconcerned as they lifted and inspected the fallen nuts. It seemed to Joe that they were deliberately, with squirrel malice and playfulness, trying to get Madison to rupture a lung, or at least the animal’s throat. The animals knew the reach of Madison’s leash and kept away.

The nuts were another matter. Joe loved the butternuts from the tree and wanted to shell and freeze several pounds. He knew that the squirrels would leave nothing worth eating and that half of what they would hide would sprout in Spring which was fine in a forest, but not in his back yard.

Joe decided to take action. He would keep the squirrels away, though not all the chipmunks, by lengthening Madison’s tie rope enough to allow him to patrol part of the tree’s area. The squirrels could forage on the blind side of the tree’s trunk, out of sight of Madison which meant that things would quiet down.

The next day, Madison’s tie rope was longer by several meters but neither the vigilant dog nor the saucy squirrels were aware of the extension of Madison’s patrol territory. There were surprised eyes all around as the dog, barking fiercely and charging to where the rope previously stopped, continued forward expecting to strain against the rope.

He assumed the straining position and fell on his face. The squirrels had never seen him so close and decided that he really was a lot scarier in person. Madison could not believe his good fortune and thought he was free. He sprang at the squirrels but they got away.

The butternuts remained on the ground within the area patrolled by Madison and the squirrels stayed out of sight. It was rumored that one of the group of furry, nut eating machines had suffered a nervous attack and was recovering in a hollow tree, deep in the woods, and dining on sweet, soothing grasses.

Madison had just enough rope to maintain a sort of free zone of nuts and Joe gathered very many that year. Madison got lots of exercise chasing the few squirrels he saw.

It was the following Spring when Joe woke up one morning to frantic barking. The clock said 3:00 AM and all he could see were squirrels at the tree, just out of reach of the tie out. The moon shadows were silent and dream like, but it was bright enough to see the squirrel shapes here and there.

It happened two nights later and again the night after that and Joe was considering muzzling Madison as some of the neighbors complained also. Instead, he decided to lengthen the rope again. Now it was long enough to go around the tree.

That very night, or rather, at 3:00 AM the next morning, Madison’s barking woke Joe from a very special dream. The grin on his face would not go away and he had that particular and peculiar feeling of total happiness that one can get from a really special dream. It seemed to him the fantasy of his mind would not release him even as the barking grew louder and more desperate.

He decided to bring his best friend inside for the remainder of the night, despite the fact that Madison loved it outside on a nice Spring night.

As he opened the door to the yard, her heard a man’s voice, gruffly cursing. Madison was insanely desperate in his barking now.

Joe switched the back lights and there, on the spring lawn, wrapped in several tangles of dog rope, was a man in black wearing a ski mask. He swatted at Madison, but the dog dodged and lunged and pulled the rope so that his guest was never sure of anything.