Like anyone who has dogs my worst nightmare has always been that one of my dogs gets out of the yard without me knowing it. In all the years I have had dogs this had never happened…until this summer.
We have a large heavy duty latch on our back gate…it is a pain to open and close but we installed it for safety for the dogs. The latch was old and getting too stiff for my hands so my husband replaced it. The new latch didn’t work properly. One of the dogs popped the gate open by jumping on it and all of my dogs got loose on the driveway. Thank goodness I was in eye shot on the property and saw them in the driveway.
We got them all corralled and back in to the yard and did head count. My sweet Spike was missing. Spike is old, deaf and never leaves mommy side. So we assumed he was in the house and not lost and immediately searched the house for him. Because he is deaf we can only find him by looking…we checked all of his favorite nappy spots…no Spike. It hit us like a ton of bricks…he is gone. We started looking all around our neighborhood…my husband in the car and me on foot. No Spike.
Spike is such a sweet and trusting dog he would walk up to anyone. We were terrified that someone nefarious picked him up on the road and took him home.
Needless to say I did not sleep that night. I drove around town all night in the hopes that I would somehow spot him. It was cold (below 32 that night) and I could not bear the thought of him being outside in the dark and cold alone.
We posted on Facebook as soon as we realized that Spike was missing and his picture was shared around town rapidly. Friends came over to help us look. But still no Spike.
But then…17 hours later a man called me…he had our Spike. Spike had made it across the creek, through several neighborhoods, through a large woods and across a huge farm…clear on the other side of town. He huddled up to the HVAC return vent on this man’s farm house to keep warm. Because Spike had been shared so much on Facebook he knew that someone was looking for him and got my phone number from our local shelter.
Bret and I immediately went to get him. Spike was relaxing and having a snack with this new friend when we got there. We were both so relieved and happy to see him but also looked at Spike and said “what were you thinking!?” Spike is so small…pretty much defenseless and a total mommy’s boy. I still can’t believe he wandered off.
Other than being cold and hungry and covered in burrs Spike was fine. He was pretty clingy for a few days.
Hands down that was one of the worse nights of my life. I am so grateful to everyone who shared Spike’s info on line and especially to the nice man who cared enough to help Spike get home.
I don’t really need any reminders that I need to cherish every minute I have with my dogs but this was one of those times when I wanted to just hold them all close and never let go.
Hug your babies…cherish every second!
Rescue On
Nancy & The Misfits