It's days like this that have me wishing that we would have never found our crazy dog all the many times she has run away. I am not the only one in our house who is sick and tired of winter. I think she is sick of not being able to sit outside and "survey her domain" all day or sniff around in the garden. So far this week she has stolen (and eaten) one chocolate muffin, one dozen chocolate cookies, a brown crayon and several teddy bears (don't worry... I called our vet and he reassured me that it was not enough chocolate to hurt her...too bad...just kidding!). Well, this all got me thinking about the 8 times she has run away. Each is quite a story. Here is a little about each Dixie Adventure:
1) After the Mallard's game- The first time Dixie ran away Adam doesn't really count because she was only lost for about 5 minutes but we still didn't know where she was! I might have had a bit too much beer at the baseball game and left the door open and her being a puppy and all...she ran out. She took off and did a full circle around the house and met up with Adam in the front. I, of course, ran to the busiest road near our house and looked for break lights...expecting the worst!
2 On a sandbar- We were camping on a sandbar (ok...it was a BIG sandbar with trees) in the middle of the Wisconsin River. She was only 5 months old and Adam thought she would stay near us so I took her off the tie out. She stayed close for awhile but then we didn't see her. I searched for her barefooted, in 90 degree heat, with snakes, in the woods, hungover! After yelling her name, while crying, she finally came running to me!
3) After a busy day- We thought she was so tired after a crazy day at the dog park and puppy class that she would just jump out of the car and run to the house. I think she was going to do that until she saw a rabbit. Then she bolted across the street in front of a car and up to our neighbor's door...maybe she just wanted to say "hi".
4) Christmas Day- Adam and I were not even with her this time! My parents said they would "dog-sit" her at their house while we were on a cruise. My dad was bringing her inside when she slipped out of her collar and took off for the huge woods across the street. My parents looked for her with flashlights in the woods at night on Christmas for 45 minutes! She actually didn't go into the woods but circled their house and was looking at the neighbor's dog through the window. Their neighbor got some puppy treats and lured her inside their house, where she got to play with their dog!
5) 100 degree day after a Beer/ Dog Fest- I was 7 months pregnant so Adam had to run after her in the heat after having 2 or 3 beers. She followed our "walk route" in the neighborhood but Adam could never catch up! The girls swinging at the playground even directed Adam which way to go! He ended up catching her with the help of a man who was mowing his lawn and thought she needed a drink!
6) A fall day with one month old twins and visitors- This was one of my favorites! We had family over meeting the girls for the first time. Adam and I were each holding a baby. Dixie had to go outside. (This was pre-fenced- in yard and doggie dog days. Back then she had to get tied up to a Skyline) Without thinking and still holding a baby, he opened the door and she took off. He handed the baby to his cousin, I handed my baby to his aunt and we both took off! Adam ran and I took the car (looking back...not a good idea...seeing that I hadn't drove in many weeks due to how many painkillers I was on after the C-section!)
7) Easter in Milwaukee- Another one of my favorites! My mom was just setting Easter dinner on the table when she escaped. Adam handed a baby to my brother's girlfriend, who is not really a "baby" person, and followed her. She chased rabbits through backyards for 45 minutes while me, Adam, my brother-in-law, uncle and aunt all followed her. I felt weird running through stranger's backyards but I thought it was fine because I was with my uncle, who is a police officer in the Milwaukee area!
8) A bad leash-Another good one! It was a bad night...I had pneumonia, the girls had the stomach flu and the dog needed to get walked so at 8 pm I took her out. I had her on a really long retractable dog leash. We were only three houses away when she saw a rabbit and bolted for it. She got to the end of the leash and it snapped. So she took off with the 30 foot leash dragging behind her. I was so sick and tired that I just turned around and walked back home. I calmly told Adam what happened and got into the car to drive around the find her. At this point, I didn't actually care if I found her or not. Sounds bad, I know. But I was sick, the girls were sick, etc. After driving around for awhile, I decided to call my neighbor to help me look. My other neighbors also joined in the search. Well, as it goes, a few of the neighbors were standing in the same spot where she took off from talking about where to go next and here comes Dixie trotting up to them! One of the neighbors stepped on the 30 foot lead and brought her home!
No comments :
Post a Comment