My Dog's Dangerous Adventure

My older dog 'Joey' can be a stinker at times. His stubbornness would get him into a dangerous situation on this particular day. I was going about my normal routine of picking up the kids from school. I got the youngest dog Spooky on her leash but decided it wasn't necessary for Joey. He usually won't run away when he knows he's going to get a fun car ride. He ran right into the car for the ride to school. Getting home and getting Joey in the house would be a different story. I would soon realize, not leashing joey was not a wise decision.

The dogs were happy and content as they peered out their respective windows. It was smooth sailing on the ride to Orono except for some barking when my furry friends saw other dogs out for a stroll. I pulled up to the school and waited for the kids to get to the car.

The ride home was uneventful and at last I pulled into the driveway of our home. The kids and I were grabbing back packs and other items from the car which distracted us from Joey's secretly planned get-a-way. I yelled for Joey to get right home but he knew he had made a clean break and wasn't about to listen.

It was one of those typical busy week days with kids doing homework and me finding my share of housework to accomplish. The kids and I finished our chores and we were off to Caribou Coffee. The kids enjoyed a nice hot coffee drink while I jumped on my lap top. After an hour of relaxation and hot beverages, we were off again to pick up mom from work which was just down the road.

As I made a right turn into our driveway, I couldn't believe what I saw. My poor, cold, shivering dog running to the car. We were all in a state of confusion as to why our dog was outside. Within seconds the proverbial light bulb went on and we remembered that Joey had gotten away at about 3 P.M. when we got home from Orono School. To our horror, it was now about 6 P.M. and very frigid out.

Joey had one of the best nights of his life. We hovered over him like he was a king, hoping it would somehow make up for our mistake. We gave him enough love for fifty dogs. The four of us got Joey on the king size bed and wrapped him in a cozy blanket. He got a special dinner that night and numerous apologies for forgetting about him.

As if the guilt about leaving my dog outside wasn't bad enough- A few days after Joey's great escape, I got an ear full from our mail-woman who filled in the blanks about Joey's adventure. Turns out he'd gotten himself into a dangerous situation. She noticed Joey all tangled up to a set of garbage cans he'd been rummaging through in the neighborhood. He had gotten his collar hooked on something and as he struggled to break free of it's grip, he was strangling himself. Our postal gal is deathly afraid of dogs, so she didn't know what to do. Eventually she saw a man walking his dog and asked if he would free the dog. I don't like to think about what might have happened to Joey if that stranger hadn't come by. Whoever you are, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. We would be lost without our best friend.

We all learned an important lesson that day: Always leash your dog. Don't make assumptions that your pet won't run away just because he/she hasn't in the past. Dogs are smart and sneaky, and Just like kids, they'll try to get away with something if you tempt them with the opportunity.