Greta: Snake dog

(Side Bar before I begin. My oldest and smallest wirehair dachshund is Greta. She is under 10 lbs and about 8 years old, a little curly headed blond. She takes nothing from nobody and has her way - none of the other dogs really cross her. She's the big mama.)

4:30 p.m. I am sitting at the computer reading my nephew Steve's email on the solution to the glass coin trick, an email forward from Japan. Look up Japanese glass sleight of hand trick.

I hear a BANG!!! / CLANG !!! ( if you will ) outside my window - Greta and Fritz (my 20 lb 7 yr old black & tan) start barking - they are pretty close to my window, right under it to be exact.
Liesl (our 6 yr old piebald - white and tan) runs up the hill from her tree squirrel vigil. I see her arrive under my window. She looks, flips & runs back down the hill to the tree - "C'mon squirrel, bring it on."
I know this doesn't seem right, so I leave the computer and run to the back porch (notice tie in to my blog's title). There are Fritz and Greta under my window with a coiled snake. I grabbed the nearest weapon (a pick axe with a broad end) and moved over to the spot. By now Greta moves in and has the snake -- She starts shaking it. Greta moves down the hill grabbing, shaking, growling, the works. Fritz has moved back cautiously; he ain't nobody's fool.
Yelling at Greta to drop the snake (what a waste of effort - she neither speaks English or cares to listen when she has a snake in her little mouth - "I'll give up this snake when you pry the cold dead creature from my clenching teeth." I try to see the head of the snake to go for the kill. Greta isn't going to share with me. Finally she moves her grip and grabs the snake in the middle and shakes. I see the head. The axe goes between the head and Greta. I push down on the axe. Greta stretches the snake out full length (give or take 4 feet long) pulling it out from under the axe.
I moved again. Finally, the snake is trapped under the axe again, and I shove my foot against the blade. The snake's tongue quits moving. Greta has ripped a hole in the snakes back - she still isn't giving up the snake. Another couple of minutes pass with more shaking and biting. After much yelling I got her to take a step back. I grabbed the back of the snake and started to throw it over the fence.
Greta was having nothing to do with that. She jumped up and grabbed the snakes tail jerking it out of my hand. Frankly, the snake is still warm - it is not my plan to caress any snake, alive or maybe partially dead. She can have it for the moment.
Got the snake again - over the fence. She began pacing. She was on the hunt for more snakes. Greta patrolled the perimeter of the immediate fence - returned to where she originally grabbed it - her heart rate is up and the adrenaline is flowing...mine too.
Relaxing after the battle I will let you know that the snake probably wasn't poisonous - I think. Probably a rat snake. They say to look for the pit in the viper's face. C'mon, I ain't holdin' no snake looking for his pits. Greta believes the only good snake is a dead snake. This is her 3rd snake that I know.
She got a cottonmouth and a water moccasin last year with me in tow.

For those who pay attention to my blog, Greta is the Hoxie Bridge dog.