Due to a past record of aggressive behavior, I don’t compliment our adopted Dennis Mugu (especially not after the Nefertiti Incident!) as often as our other pets. But in the light of fairness, I must give it to him to be a fabulous guard dog and a wonderful guinea fowl chaser (and he has improved on his social side during the past year)!

You see, if there is one animal I can’t stand in the whole of Niger, it’s the guinea fowl. I like their eggs (petite but tasty!), but as critters they make more racket than any other animal I know. And they always seem to be wide awake when you yourself is trying to catch some sleep! At least roosters don’t start until early morning, but these guys go from daylight to midnight - and then well past it. I kid you not.

One of the first things I did with Dennis after we moved into the house in 2006 was to train him in the things I really wanted him to watch over - guinea fowls being one of them. Just like with his mother, I only need to come out and say “Get it!” and Dennis runs around the house and chases it off.

Most often, the guinea fowls go back where they came from (the neighbours), but sometimes they fly deeper into our yard, and I have to come out to rescue them. Not because I’m very fond of guinea fowls, but I’d rather that their owner eats them than Dennis!

This guy thought he was wise and landed on our rooftop, but I had to come out twice to make sure he got away safely. I think he learned his lesson though, because after this incident, we didn’t have guinea fowl vistors for a long time.

Well done, Dennis Mugu!