When is a rat not a rat?

Behind the back fence there is a rat. Mum says it is a dog but I don't think so. I think it is a rat.
It has little stumpy legs....like a rat.
It has little beady eyes.....like a rat.
It has a ratty looking tail....like a rat.
It makes a sucky sound.....like a rat.
It is called Otto.....a rat's name if ever I heard one.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Mum insists it is a dog. She says it is a Chee-wow-wah. I have never heard of a Che-wow-wah. Neither has Heidi. So we have been keeping a close eye on Otto the Rat just to see if he shows any signs of dogginess.

We are taking turns at watching. There are spaces between the palings of the back fence. It is not like the side fence which is really high. This makes the watching quite easy and comfortable. We can just sit in under the palm trees and relax whilst peeping through the gaps in the fence. The only problem is that these particular palm trees are right beside the clump of bushes where we think the vicious, nasty, scratching, biting tiger beast lives.

We have come up with a plan to deal with this issue. One of us takes up the observation position under the palm trees and the other reclines gracefully on the patio lounger and listens for rustling in the bushes. That vicious, scratching, biting, nasty tiger beast is not going to get us again. In fact, now that I think about it, if anyone is danger from a nasty, vicious, scratching, biting tiger beast, it would be Otto the Rat.

He is little and tends to scurry.....like a rat.
He hides behind the big plant pot....like a rat.
He is teeny tiny and has no muscles to fight off a tiger......like a rat.
He has, so far, shown no signs of being a dog so I think the tiger beast who lives in the bushes will have no problems turning Otto the Rat into a light lunch.

I hope not. I like spying on him. I like giving him a good barking occasionally and I like running up and down beside the fence racing him. He can go surprisingly fast sometimes. In fact, he's not so bad really.....better than those pussy cats.
Perhaps I should warn him about the vicious, biting, nasty, scratching tiger beast.