@sozobe,
I used to live next door to a rollicking old bull terrier...a dog I anthropomorphize frequently to have a droll, wry, slightly cruel, sense of humour.
This one would occasionally escape from her back yard (when her owners were too drunk to remember to shut the gate properly, I hypothesize) and delighted to torment the two fussy, yappy little toy poodles across the road.
They were imprisoned behind high fences and gates. Their only congress with the outside world was through sound, and by sticking as much of their noses as they could out under the gate.
The bull terrier would scamper across the road, and huff and run around outside the poodle's gate. The noise was enough to alert the poodles, but not enough for their owners to hear from inside.
The poodles would go ape-****!!! Their barking frenzy would eventually get their owners to come outside and yell at them.
The bull terrier would run across the road, and hide behind her fence as soon as she heard the door open.
The poodles would quieten, and then the bull terrier would run back and torment them some more.
This would happen a few times, and eventually the owners would, restraining the frenzied poodles, come out of the gate to see what was exciting the poodles. Nothing!!! A hidden bull terrier would hear the commotion with apparent delight (I could see her grin if I was outside gardening).
The puzzled owners would go back inside, and the cycle would begin again.
Eventually the innocent poodles would be punished by making them go inside.
I confess, I never told on the bull terrier.
