Champ vs. Iggy

It seems there is always some adventure going on around here and this past week has been very interesting.  Last Sunday afternoon, I went out to feed my dog, Champ.  He was tied and when I got over to him I looked down by his food dish and water pan and there laid an Iguana about two feet long dead!!  If he can catch them he doesn't always let them escape.  Other times he just plays with them and tantalizes them.  It sort of startled me and I jumped back.  Now, I'm really not afraid of them, but I'm not really fond of them either.  Like I said they just startle me if I don't see them at first.  I was telling our school cook about it and said that it was going to lay there unless Dennis or Randy, our gardener, moved it :o)  The next day, Monday, Champ got off of his chain which he's been doing a lot lately.  I really don't care as there is a wall/fence the whole way around our yard, so he just loves the freedom to run.  Late in the afternoon I got ready again to go out to feed him.  We have a big enclosed back porch and right outside of the door is a pretty good size cage that a friend gave us to use when our puppies were born almost two years ago.  When Champ is off the chain I usually set his food on top of the cage, go get his food bowl and then mix up the food in his bowl.  Well, when I went out the door I went to set the food on top of the cage and I thought I would DIE!!!  There was an Iguana stuck in the top of the cage with his tail down in the cage and it was straight up and down not leaning against anything!!  I started screaming and ran to the other side of the porch.  Dennis was just inside the door sitting at the desk using the computer.  Of course, he looked and I told him to come out.  I told him to look at the cage and when he saw the Iguana I said he was going to have to get the critter unstuck :o)  I then got off the porch to the yard.  All we can figure out is that Champ had caught it and left it get away from him and it crawled up on the cage and ended up getting stuck!  It's funny now, but it wasn't then!!  Now, on to today excitement.  Dennis had two meetings over in his office in the Church and was gone from about 9 this morning until around 1:30.  I happened to be walking through the house when I looked out through our dining room french doors to the back enclosed porch.  There was Champ by the steps just staring out in the back yard and not moving a muscle!  I thought there must be an Iguana out there.  I ran to one of the back bedrooms to watch the circus :o)  He lunged off the porch missing the steps and headed straight for a huge Iguana.  The tail alone had to be at least three feet long!  They went back and forth along the wall/fence three or four times.  Champ would try to grab it, but the Iguana would flip it's long tail at him.  That's their protection.  Well, Champ kept at it until he wore the Iguana out!  It was hilarious.  I took over 40 pictures through the bedroom window :o)  I knew if I went outside I would distract them.  It was hilarious.  He would pick it up and flip it around.  It would land on it's back and just lay there and slowly get back up on it's feet.  Oh, my was it funny.  After bit I decided to run back out to the front part of the house and get my zoom lenses to get closer pictures.  Champ never saw me.  Usually if I go to one of the windows he spies me immediately, but today he had something else on his mind.  Haha!!  Later in the scuffle of the two, they ended up over at the steps to the back porch and two different times I thought the Iguana was coming on the porch, but Champ would grab it.  I watched for maybe 20 or 25 minutes and then went on to doing something else.  When I went back to check later I saw blood on the side of the house.  Previously I hadn't noticed that Champ punctured it, but he apparently did.  I hope it went somewhere and died.  Those things are such a nuisance.  The Caymanians and people who have lived here for a long time say that since hurricane Ivan the Iguanas have multiplied much, much more.  With Champ you never know what a day will bring forth.  I told Dennis it's like Champ is telling the Iguana's this is his turf now and I'll show you who is King of the Backyard!!  Here's some pictures of the action.

With the zoom lenses