Bella and the salmon run

It seemed like such a nice morning for a walk to the salmon stream. Here at Minter Creek the salmon are running, and we decided to take a walk to the creek to look at the fish making their way up the stream to breed and die. I watched from the bridge for a minute and then decided to take the path to the creek for a closer view. Big Mistake!!!!! Bella the mighty huntress escaped, dragging me into the muddy creek, while she jumped wildly among the big salmon. Then, she snatched one up, and shook it. Bella's collar was off, and she was WILD. She had that salmon and was not letting go. Finally, I managed to grab her by the tail and put her collar back on. Poor salmon- it was at death's door. In order to get Bella back up the hill and to the road, I had to push her muddy butt, beat the hell out of her (NOT my normal activity) and pull her up. It was so hard that I was panting and on the verge of tears. Remember that Bella weighs almost 100 pounds- not much less than me, and she is much stronger. Finally, finally I got her to the road, and had to walk back to the rental house covered with mud- and was wearing a skirt.

Once I got Bella back I knew that she would realize what that splashing in the creek behind the deck was. It was those fish! Those wonderful fish that are so much fun to catch. I told Jon what had happened and said that he needed to watch her while I went in. Two minutes later I came out, and there was Bella- down in the muddy creek wildly chasing salmon. Jon went down and finally got Bella, then rigged up a harness to keep her on the deck. In the past Bella has killed a fawn, raccoon, squirrel, rabbit, vole, mouse, mole, and now a fish. She had to feed herself and her puppies before I rescued Bella. She was abused and pathetic, so I can't fault her survival instincts.

Now we are in Seattle spending the night with Rob and Amelia. We ate Salmon for supper. It was good, but I kept thinking of that poor fish in the stream.