Tuesday May 13th - Lucy runs away!

Tuesday May 13th 2008

Sunday was uneventful, we had a relaxing day while it stormed outside and dropped to 50 something degrees. Of course I took Lucy out, but for short walks throughout the day. I had to go to Petsmart to get a new fish tank and made the wise choice not to take Lucy inside. The beta fish somehow made a mess in the vase I had him in, so I needed to upgrade.

Monday - yesterday - nothing eventful, except the usual morning walk.

Today - worked from home and I thought I'd have a relaxing morning til I started work. Boy was I wrong! While I was setting my food down to eat my breakfast, I opened the porch door and let Lucy out. I went back to the kitchen to get tea and then I had this sinking feeling - it was too quite and I worried where Lucy was. I rushed onto the porch. Empty. My heart started to race. Then suddenly I heard the "ding ding ding" of her collar tags and saw her running at full speed away from my house towards the road. I screamed, "Lucy! Lucy". I rushed inside, threw on my sneakers, grabbed a whole box of dog treats and ran outside. Gone. Poof. I was running around my neighborhood in my red fleece dog hair covered robe, Pjs' underneath and black sneakers, clutching a box of dog treats, wiping my eyes of tears and trying to cheerily call out, "Lucy, come here. Treats. Lucy!" I had grabbed my cell phone and called my friend Stefan in tears. He's Lucy's "doggie uncle". He said he'd be right over, but the best thing to do is to stay close to my house and keep calling her with treats. It was 7am and I realized I might have worken him up, but thanked him and said I had to keep looking. Images of Lucy hit by a car flooded my mind. My heart raced and I felt horrible. At least she had a dog tag and microchip. My thoughts raced, "Should I call animal control? can they find her? What should I do?"

Out of ideas and needing to get home, I walked home frustrated. Suddenly, to my delight I saw a little while tail wagging in the woods near my back door. It was Lucy! I called out and shook my box of dog treats violently. "Come, Lucy, come!" I didn't want to run towards her because she'd think it's a game and run away. To my huge surprise and relief, she came bounding my way. She shoved her nose into the doggie treats and ate away. For a moment I felt a rush of relief and even anger. I wanted to tell her to never do that again, that she scared me to death. But I knew she wouldn't understand. Instead, I scooped her up in my arms, grabbed the doggie treats and walked home. I gently put her down once inside and then reached for my phone to call Stefan that everything was okay. He was happy too.

So, having a dog *can* be a relaxing and rewarding experience. What I forgot to think about was the possibility of her slipping out and possibly getting lost or hurt. This morning having a dog whom I love caused me sheer anxiety. I'm so grateful that she came home by herself and was alright. *sigh*. It certainly was like drinking 5 cups of coffee at once and got my day started.

After the excitement, I got dressed and took Lucy out for a long walk. I clipped her leash to her collar in addition to the "Gentle Leader" chest restraint. I didn't want to take any chances. Lucy seemed her jolly self, not realizing how scared I was earlier. To her, I guess, it was just one doggie adventure.