Because my yard is not fenced in,
I have one of those "screw in the ground" dog leashes
that allows my dog, Charlie, to explore the outside world, unscathed.
One recent morning, I let him outside (as I always do),and went about my business,
tending to various tasks around the house.
Normally, I check up on him every few minutes or so, to see if he is ready to come in.
I don't know if it was the laundry, the current writing project I was working on,
or the unusual amount of phone calls I received,
but something distracted me from checking on him sooner than I did.
I was in my bedroom, when I realized that he had been out there for a good twenty or thirty minutes,
and when I looked out the window, I could not see him attached to the end of the leash.
I went to the back door, and sure enough..........................he was gone.
I immediately felt that panic set in, like when you turn around, and your child is missing.
As I quickly scrounged up some shoes, two thoughts went through my head:
1) Someone stole him.
2) I did not properly hook him up to the leash, and he simply wandered away.
My common sense told me it was the latter of the two.
Either way, HE WAS MISSING.
I started my search in the back yard, and made my way towards the front.
"Charlie!" I called out. "Char-lie!"
I didn't hear a thing.
At the same moment that I imagined my search lasting for HOURS, and deep into the neighborhood,
out of the corner of my eye, I caught a furry image.
I turned to my left, and there he was, futzing around in my neighbor's front yard.
He looked at me, tail wagging, eyes bright, as if to say,
"What's up? It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"
I have one of those "screw in the ground" dog leashes
that allows my dog, Charlie, to explore the outside world, unscathed.
One recent morning, I let him outside (as I always do),and went about my business,
tending to various tasks around the house.
Normally, I check up on him every few minutes or so, to see if he is ready to come in.
I don't know if it was the laundry, the current writing project I was working on,
or the unusual amount of phone calls I received,
but something distracted me from checking on him sooner than I did.
I was in my bedroom, when I realized that he had been out there for a good twenty or thirty minutes,
and when I looked out the window, I could not see him attached to the end of the leash.
I went to the back door, and sure enough..........................he was gone.
I immediately felt that panic set in, like when you turn around, and your child is missing.
As I quickly scrounged up some shoes, two thoughts went through my head:
1) Someone stole him.
2) I did not properly hook him up to the leash, and he simply wandered away.
My common sense told me it was the latter of the two.
Either way, HE WAS MISSING.
I started my search in the back yard, and made my way towards the front.
"Charlie!" I called out. "Char-lie!"
I didn't hear a thing.
At the same moment that I imagined my search lasting for HOURS, and deep into the neighborhood,
out of the corner of my eye, I caught a furry image.
I turned to my left, and there he was, futzing around in my neighbor's front yard.
He looked at me, tail wagging, eyes bright, as if to say,
"What's up? It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"
I WAS SO RELIEVED.
I scooped him up and brought him inside, hugging him, all the while.
Later that day, Charlie and I went on a nice, long walk.
And, the following morning, I made sure his leash was latched on properly,
and did not let him out of my sight.
I just LOVE a happy ending.
No comments:
Post a Comment