A few months ago, on one of the few quiet Sundays at our house we spent some time straightening up and preparing for the winter. My family and I live in Phoenix, Arizona; in the cul-de-sac called “Ahwatukee.” We see all kinds of desert creatures at different times. Ahwatukee is a geographically established community named for its local interpretation of the Native American phrase for “paradise.” It is nestled in the area between the southern side of South Mountain Park and Interstate 10 the 4th longest Interstate Highway in the country that stretches from the Pacific Ocean to Jacksonville, Florida (of course Route I-10 runs due north-south as it borders Ahwatukee, making Ahwatukee’s borders even more confusing). At over 16000 acres, South Mountain Park is the largest municipal park in the country so there are lots of critters running around all year (check out this link, it’s really interesting). It is not uncommon to see a coyote walking in the foothills of South Mountain behind my house. We have seen Javelina, quail, all sizes of lizards, really skinny desert rabbits, owls, hawks and a variety of other wildlife right in our back yard!

Well, preparing for the winter in Phoenix means putting the bathing suits in a drawer and pulling out the long sleeve tee shirts and sweaters for those really cold days below 60 degrees. On this particular Sunday we had all the doors open around the house, including the garage. While we were busy arranging some outdoor furniture a cry for help came from the kitchen. Standing, frightened, in the middle of the kitchen, was my wife, yelling at a coyote that wandered into the house from the open garage. We all came running with sticks and bats and even a leash!

How Scary!

Thank goodness for our highly skilled and overly protective, fierce guard dogs. OK, truth be told our house pets run under the bed and hide if someone in the house drops a spoon and it makes a clattering sound on the floor. Well, they really saved the day when they approached the beast threatening my wife. Our loving mutts proceeded to sniff the coyote in places left only to the imagination (why dogs insist on sniffing other dogs' hind quarters is beyond me). Apparently the animals had all met in the neighborhood. How nice to know we have a neighborhood coyote. No sooner did the menagerie in our kitchen begin their mutual salutations when the guy who owns the house up the block was out in the street calling "Nicky..Nicky". It seems the "threat" was his skinny golden retriever. When we all settled down, realizing what was happening we told our neighbor that his dog looks an awful lot like a coyote! He responded: that's what everybody tells me!

This saga of our little house in the desert has a pretty quiet ending; Nicky went home with his owner, we closed all the doors to the house and our canine attack team hid under the bed...someone dropped another spoon.

Want more great family stories or just great Family Practice Dentistry? Come and visit us at Today’s Dental.

Dr. Michael Glass

Call (480) 893-2273 or email (michael@todaysdental.com)