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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=3 face=Arial>(First of all, nothing bad happened, so don't worry.)</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV>Yesterday, I was visiting my friend, whose dog had four gorgeous, big, fat,
happy, healthy puppies. She lives on a small lot in a highly-populated
suburb of Boston, with houses tightly next to each other. (Just so you
know that this didn't happen on a rural ranch, where it might sound more
likely.)</DIV>
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<DIV>We were sitting on the back steps of her porch, watching the four
six-week-old babies romp and fall over and try to play and puppy-growl and roll
and just have a great puppy time. Suddenly we noticed two hawks circling
overhead. Just at that instant, one started to swoop down at the
puppies.</DIV>
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<DIV>Luckily, we both ran and hurled ourselves to cover the puppies, then
grabbed them and raced inside and everyone was all right. But
what if we hadn't noticed the predators in time? What if
there had only been one of us? What if she were alone with the
puppies and then stepped inside for an instant to get a camera?</DIV>
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<DIV>As she has thought about all the things that could happen to the
puppies, and has taken every precaution to protect them, it NEVER dawned
on her to think about hawks swooping down from the sky. She lives a
15-minute drive from downtown Boston!</DIV>
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<DIV>It took me hours to fall asleep last night, because I kept replaying what
happened, and the what-ifs. So I wanted to pass this on to all of you, so
that whenever you have a puppy (I'm guessing it was their bouncy movements that
made them look like bunnies, like prey) you'll be aware that, as safe as you
make the environment around them, danger can also come from a suburban
sky.</DIV>
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<DIV>--Shaken Beth H. (Duchess ATB and Blueberry ATB)</DIV>
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