Dog days come early

Maddie gets to know her new friend, a labrador retriever
named Mary Margaret.

Everyone is in love with my friend Deb's new puppy, who was seven weeks in this photo. (We've had some discussions about the name, but hey, to each her own.) Maddie really wants to play with her, but she knows not to squash her. She prances around and tries to engage her; the first time, the puppy ran for cover, but she's gotten a little bolder and now occasionally swats a tiny paw at Maddie. My dog is actually pretty small for a lab, but she looks like an oaf next to the puppy.

We've been talking a lot about how great it is to have a dog. I was sitting at the kitchen table talking to Deb yesterday, both dogs asleep on the cool tile floor, when someone came to the door. Maddie jumped up and ran to the door, wagging her tail. "Isn't it great to have a dog come running to the door when you come in?" I said.

Maddie has been great about coming when called, so sometimes I take her in the yard without a leash. We live on a busy street, but the house is set back, and she seems to know to stay at the edge of the property away from the road.

Yesterday I went out to clip a few spring flowers from the garden, and the dog wandered off a couple of times to the woods around the house, but each time I called her, she ran back. When it was time to go inside, I called her and she dashed into the woods and disappeared. At least she didn't go towards the street. The woods border a residential neighborhood, and I cut through to the house of our nearest neighbors, Eugene and Susan. (Moss and overgrown trees...weak legs...I did not need to be doing this.)

Eugene and Susan reassured me that she'd come back, and they started calling for her too. So did Joe and Katie. I got in the car and drove around. No sign of her. I got that sickening feeling like when you "lose" a young child in a crowded store. Usually the child is right behind your legs. I figured that the dog would come back, but I felt sick and guilty.

Joe headed off to the store to buy a few things. There was nothing we could do. Katie sat on the couch with me and comforted me, saying it wasn't my fault. Then Joe called. He had made one more loop of the neighborhood called Sycamore Knolls. He said he found the dog in someone's yard. She stunk and was covered with something that she must have rolled in.

It wasn't far, so I walked down with the leash. When we got her home, he sprayed her with the hose to get the worst of it off. Then off to the bathtub. She sat nicely for her bath, looking pretty pathetic, and then when she got out, she shook. What a mess.

Joe then had to go to the store and get a new collar, because the old one was covered with whatever it was. I tried not to glare at her. I know that dogs have a short memory, and she would just be confused by an angry tone hours later. I was so relieved to see her, but I was also angry.

Today I didn't let her come outside without a leash. I'm not sure if she should get her "privilege"
back. It's nice to have her romping around when I go into the yard, but I'm not sure if it's worth another runaway episode.

There is, of course, one good thing about our little ordeal.

I didn't think about leukemia once.