Spiders, Flys and June Bugs...oh my!

I never had to call an exterminator for my house when Zoe was near. She ate everything. All manner of bugs and insects - flying or crawling. In some cases, demanded that I retrieve the intruder and present it to her like a gift, or a treat. Many the time she sat on my bed, barking at the ceiling in the middle of the night. I awoke only to find a spider patiently making its way across the drywall like an upside down high-wire artist on a tightrope. Did she hear the spider? Not unless the spider was wearing tap shoes. Did she see the spider? Zoe slept in another room. My only conclusion was that she "sensed" the spider was there.

I could leave the screen door open and know that any fly that dared to enter my puppy's air space was not long for this world. The fly would buzz by me and the dog whizzed past, hot on its trail. A few leaps, a snap of the jaw and the sound of a tongue licking its chops and I knew that Zoe had a protein snack for the day.

The most unusual bug she desired was the June Bug. She would patrol the yard at night and come back with the creature in her mouth - sometimes in mid-chew, other times dropping it on the floor to devour it in front of me. I would hear the crunching sound and see the contentment on her face. This was a delicacy to her.

I must point out that I did not teach her about bugs or encourage her love of making them a snack. Zoe entered my life when she was seven or eight months old and had a previous owner. She was found as a stray and brought to the shelter. Because she was such a sweet dog, the workers fostered her to a family until she found a forever home - me. Puppy brought her refined tastes with her into my home.

My first insight to her discriminating palate was when I was removing a lilac bush. The roots were a mangled mess and as I dug, I found grubs in the soil. The dog would eat the immature Japanese Beetles off the shovel as I dug around the plant - fighting me for the grubs before I squished them with the shovel.

She must have been on her own for awhile and had to eat what she could to survive. I wonder if I could do the same if I was hungry.