Thankful

Thankful beyond words!  Last Saturday evening (a week ago), we had quite a scare when both dogs got out through an open gate!  To say that we were terrified is an understatement, but the good news first - both were back home safe and sound within a half hour!  The rest of the story...

I was supposed to have dinner with a friend and Tracy was going to watch Lauren while I was gone.  He had been out mowing the grass and he came in to check the time.  He was hoping to have time to finish mowing, but it was later than he thought and I needed to leave soon.  So, he hopped in the shower quickly and then took over baby duty.  Unfortunately, he forgot to go back out and close the gate!

About an hour after I left, I received a phone call from Tracy saying the dogs got out.  He had already got Puddin back, but he couldn't find Buford.  I could hear how scared he was in his voice and I instantly went into panic mode myself, grabbed my stuff, and got on the road.  My friend was really worried about me driving because I was so upset, but I couldn't wait I had to get home to help find my boy.  She paid the bill, got our dinners boxed up, and quickly got on the road to come join in the search.  We were about 20 minutes from home.  I couldn't stand not being able to go out and look for Mr. Buford, so I did everything I could think of from a distance.  First, I called my aunt.  They live 10 minutes away, would do anything in the world for me, and I knew they could take care of Lauren while we tried to find Buford.  Next, I called Debbie (the president of our adoption group) because I knew she would put a plan in action and could think better than I could at the moment.  Finally, I called my neighbor to make sure they knew what happened and had my cell phone number.  I wasn't sure how long the dogs had been out at the time, but I knew every minute was precious.  I had so many thoughts racing through my mind.  It was still around 90 degrees then and I was worried about the heat.  The street we live on is just off of a heavily traveled divided highway and that was my biggest concern.

I was just a couple minutes from home when I got the call that Buford was safe and you can imagine the relief that rushed over me!  Once I got home, I got the details from Tracy.  He was getting ready to make dinner for himself and Lauren, but decided to take the dogs out first.  The double gate that we take the mower through was mistakenly left open and out they went.  He sat Lauren down, ran in the house to grab the squawker (squirrel call) and took off across the front yard.  He just had on a pair of Adidas slip-on sandal-like shoes, obviously not good for running.  Our dogs have always known the sound of the squawker and in our back yard they always come racing to us when they hear it (and in return they get a treat).  We keep squawkers everywhere for just this occassion if they were to ever get loose - we have one just inside the house, one in each vehicle, and we always take one on walks or anytime we are out and about.  Unfortunately, the kids forgot about the squawker when they got out.  Tracy said they must have stopped about 15 times when they heard it, turned and looked at him, and then took off again!  Buford was in the lead and he could tell that Puddin was torn between running to him and following Buford.  He got close a couple of times, but then they would take off again.  They were running in the same direction down our road that we always take them for walks on.  Finally, about a 1/4 mile down the road he caught Puddin.  He was within a few feet from Buford and he took off again!  In his haste running after them, Tracy forgot the leashes.  There was no way he was going to catch Buford while holding Puddin so he turned around.  Tracy carried Puddin the whole way back home which wasn't easy with a 60 lb dog in tote and wearing the shoes he had on.  He got Puddin in the house, grabbed Lauren, and jumped in the van to look for Buford.  He drove up and down our road, through a field that Buford loves to go in on our walks, and out on the main road.  After making this loop a few times, he stopped back by the house and Buford was standing in our garage!!!  I couldn't believe he found his way back on his own.  We got both of them back completely unharmed - thank God!

I have been through a thousand what-ifs in my head and have thanked God every day that we still have them, that they were not injured, that Lauren was okay (she wasn't alone long, but she was standing at the fence crying when Tracy rushed back with Puddin), and that Tracy doesn't have to live with the guilt of something happening to them because I know he would never forgive himself.  Tracy apologized to me for almost losing them, but I wasn't mad at him.  He cares about them just as much as I do and it just goes to show accidents happen, it could happen to any one of us.

I've heard so many stories of greyhounds getting loose and scenes that played out just like ours.  They love you with their whole heart and yet you're 10 feet away from them and they run in the opposite direction.  Puddin has always been the best at coming to us.  No matter what she's doing, even outside, we call her name one time and she comes running to us, tail wagging.  Fortunately, she never got out of sight and Tracy was able to bring her home to safety when he did.  He said if he hadn't caught up to her, we may not have either one of them because he thinks that Buford got scared when he realized he was all alone and that's when he found his was back home.  Thankfully, they ran the same direction that we walk so he was familiar with the area and I'm sure that's how he knew how to get back home.

I'm also thankful to have such a supportive adoption group.  Whenever I do phone interviews or home visits, I talk about how if a dog ever gets loose, that we will gather any voluteers in the area immediately to help in the search.  I witnessed it first hand when within 5-10 minutes of my call to Debbie people were coming from as far as 45 minutes away to help us find our sweet boy!  Only one person made it to our house and the others were called off on their way since a full search party wasn't needed after all.  The person that was closest was an on-duty officer who is a K9 trainer with the Virginia Police Canine Association.  He had already notified Animal Control.  His wife said she was within minutes of calling in a favor to see if someone else could send out a helicopter to help in the search since we only had a couple hours of daylight left.  I'm very grateful to have such wonderful family and friends.

I wonder what our kids were thinking too, especially Buford.  Did he just go out run around, pee on everything, and then say "hey, this is kind of boring by yourself and it's pretty darn hot too so I think I'll head home, now"?  Whatever it was, I'm just thankful that we had a happy ending! 

I don't have pictures of their great escape, but in looking for a picture for this post I discovered that this could have been the last picture that I had of Buford and Puddin together.  Lauren is feeding them chicken nuggets.  She loves to give them treats and they never complain about that!