So heres what happened: Id told the kiddos that Id take them to the zoo, but when I came downstairs after doing a few things I had to do for work, the kids had Kuna leashed up and were grinning. They wanted to make sure that she was getting enough outside play time and felt theyd rather take her to the park than go to the zoo. I was so touched by their kindness to Kuna that I forgot to check the collar. Meanwhile, weve been working with kuna about being good about stopping at intersections and sitting. After a couple blocks she forgot to and so I tugged at the leash to remind her. With a pop and a clang the leash went slack. I realized this a split second before kuna, and briefly wondered if I could grab her collar. But if I grabbed at her shed instinctively weave and run (and shes really fast). I started to reach down casually to pet her but in the meantime kuna had realized what had happened too and was off. I realized that the clang Id heard was her tag popping loose. Whered you put the leash? I asked Elena as I grabbed the tag and the bent ring that had connected her tag to her collar. There, she pointed to the ring. That isnt strong enough! I snapped, and instantly regretted it because of course it wasnt her fault she hadnt known better, and I ought to have double checked. I told her as much but by now she was bawling. We ran down the road. Kuna was loping slowly and happily nosing around and muddling through peoples yards, easily keeping out of our reach whenever I got too close. I knew eventually shed get tired or want to go home (if she didnt get hit by a car first --- shes very smart but has no fear of cars). And though she can outrun me at first, I have better endurance than her. But I also had two crying kids who wanted to go home and get in the car, and who couldnt keep up. Still, I told them we had to try to follow her as long as we could because if we lost her our chances of finding her would go way down. And so we followed her across two busy roads (park side and Bancroft for those who know the area) to Ottawa Park (where wed been planning on taking her, as Im sure she knew). Finally kuna ran into a stand of trees that sloped down into a golf course. By the time we got to the other side she was gone. Elena was sobbing the whole time, moaning that it if we couldnt find kuna it would be all her fault. I told her this wasnt true, but I knew what she wanted me to tell her was that wed find her. But I couldnt tell her that. She moaned how shed wished wed gone to the zoo. I thought this would be better for Kuna, she choked out. I decided it wasnt the best time to explain the concept of irony. Around this time, I texted the the kids mom (who was thankfully able to come meet us to get them) and started to post pictures on the Facebone. I figured by this point the likelihood of her going to our house (again assuming she did not get hit) was greater than our likelihood of finding her in the park, so we started to walk home. We got our car and met up with Heather at the park. The kids went with her and they drove around while I walked on foot. Plenty of pedestrians were out, many with dogs and I asked them all if theyd seen a stray, but no dice. I called the dog warden and asked them if they could notify me if anyone called about a dog near Ottawa Park, but again no dice. They said they werent allowed to and my best bet would be to stop over right before they closed, a few hours thence. Still, they took my info to put in the lost book. I figured Id be doing that but thought Id lap the park one time fully. Then about 5 minutes later my phone rang from an unknown number. Someone told me hed found my dog and was holding onto her quite close to where I lived. I hurried over. In fact, it was just three houses up from mine (though a bit set back and across a road) I told the guy we were in fact neighbors and pointed to my house. Oh, he said. Thats where I found her. She was trying to go in. Did she still have her tags though? I asked. Im confused how you got my number. Its weird. He said. I was calling dog control to have them come pick her up, and the woman on the phone said I should call that number before I had them come out. I figure that he must have called right after I did and the dispatcher must have contravened the rule shed told me against contacting lost dog owners without tags. Thanks for breaking the rules, anonymous lady. You made the kids (and my) day.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 01:17:50 +0000
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