Doggone it
My little rascals escaped last night, and went on a tour of the town. Thank goodness they were wearing their collars with freshly applied rabies tags and contact information. I don't usually force them to wear the collars, as they are house dogs, and only when leashed do we really "need to wear them" - or so I thought. My little princess Lucy scratches so much (skin allergies) that the tinkling of her tags drives me insane. Since we had only recently (2 days ago) returned from the kennel, they still had them on. Yay for laziness!
Actually, I can't blame their access to freedom squarely on their creativity. Seems that after The Boy's chores, the gate had not been latched securely (something that has needed repaired for years). It was only after a 2am pee trip (my own, thank you) that I noticed the dogs were not in the house. I wandered down into the basement, clad in socks and some sloppy sleeping attire, and saw the gate W-I-D-E O-P-E-N. In the distance, I hear Lucy yipping at something. I thought I saw a glimpse of her big companion ("Rags" - I didn't name him) off around the corner. I didn't want to lose them by opting for petty little conveniences like a flashlight, their leashes, or you know, shoes. So there I went, stocking feet and all, through puddles and over gravel, calling out to them. They came towards me, just far enough to be in sight, and made a fun little game of scampering off farther and turning to watch me stumble through the night, calling their names. Lucy went off on her own little scavenger hunt, but Rags found some new things to sniff & mark along the way - each time allowing me to get juuuuust close enough to reach out to him before taking off again. Grrrrrr.
I was so mad I was in tears. I was mad at the kid for not checking the gate. I was mad at myself for not wearing shoes. I was mad at these stupid animals for doing this to me. I was mad at myself again, for not having greater control over the mongrels. I was mad at the control they had over me. I was mad at it being the middle of the night, and nobody around to help me. This went on for about a half-mile before I was ready to just give up and head back home. I don't know if the big dog sensed it, or if his fat ass (133.5 lbs of not being walked enough)
was getting tired from all the activity, but he allowed me close enough to grab him. He even "sat" for me when I told him to, and I held onto that collar so tightly you can bet he knew I meant business. He walked with me like a seeing-eye dog, neatly by my side, proud to be taking me back home. Lucy just followed along, never really having had a plan in the first place, just thrilled to have seen/smelled the other side of the neighborhood. I could have carried all 18 lbs of her, but she didn't stray from us once on the way back.
I gave them fresh water and a good talking to. They said they were sorry, and we all agreed to go for a "real" walk sometime soon. For now, I'm going to go fix that gate.
Actually, I can't blame their access to freedom squarely on their creativity. Seems that after The Boy's chores, the gate had not been latched securely (something that has needed repaired for years). It was only after a 2am pee trip (my own, thank you) that I noticed the dogs were not in the house. I wandered down into the basement, clad in socks and some sloppy sleeping attire, and saw the gate W-I-D-E O-P-E-N. In the distance, I hear Lucy yipping at something. I thought I saw a glimpse of her big companion ("Rags" - I didn't name him) off around the corner. I didn't want to lose them by opting for petty little conveniences like a flashlight, their leashes, or you know, shoes. So there I went, stocking feet and all, through puddles and over gravel, calling out to them. They came towards me, just far enough to be in sight, and made a fun little game of scampering off farther and turning to watch me stumble through the night, calling their names. Lucy went off on her own little scavenger hunt, but Rags found some new things to sniff & mark along the way - each time allowing me to get juuuuust close enough to reach out to him before taking off again. Grrrrrr.
I was so mad I was in tears. I was mad at the kid for not checking the gate. I was mad at myself for not wearing shoes. I was mad at these stupid animals for doing this to me. I was mad at myself again, for not having greater control over the mongrels. I was mad at the control they had over me. I was mad at it being the middle of the night, and nobody around to help me. This went on for about a half-mile before I was ready to just give up and head back home. I don't know if the big dog sensed it, or if his fat ass (133.5 lbs of not being walked enough)
was getting tired from all the activity, but he allowed me close enough to grab him. He even "sat" for me when I told him to, and I held onto that collar so tightly you can bet he knew I meant business. He walked with me like a seeing-eye dog, neatly by my side, proud to be taking me back home. Lucy just followed along, never really having had a plan in the first place, just thrilled to have seen/smelled the other side of the neighborhood. I could have carried all 18 lbs of her, but she didn't stray from us once on the way back.
I gave them fresh water and a good talking to. They said they were sorry, and we all agreed to go for a "real" walk sometime soon. For now, I'm going to go fix that gate.
posted by Julie at 3:20 PM
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