The Hungry Hungry Writer

Archive for January 25th, 2007

Have you ever had a dog run away?

Posted in: Slice of Life on January 25, 2007 at 5:38 am by Glenn.

When I was a kid my little dog named “Shorty” ran away. I was really young. I think it was a German Shepherd puppy. He was cute but he used to bite my sister’s socks while she walked. She didn’t like that.

Then, my dog “Champ” ran away and became a big movie star which I wrote about a while back. He was a Fox Terrier. He usually came back and would sit on my lawn waiting for me to come home from school. I woke up one morning and my mom said he took off up the street and never came back. I was in fifth grade I think.

Then, my German Shepherd/Collie mix, “ZoE”, ran away from my sister’s house about two years ago. She usually comes back. And just recently, my sister and her husband’s German Shepherd died from old age. He may have missed ZoE. They used to escape together, exploring the neighborhood. Then, he was alone as ZoE never came back. I’m sure he was lonely.

Two days ago, “Ally”, my Irish Wolfhound mix, ran away.

We had electricians in our house and they left the back door open and the front door open. I was getting changed in my room when I saw Ally take off through the hallway. So I chased her till she got outside.

I didn’t worry as usually she heels and I grab her collar and take her back home. But this time I followed her up the street and she took off. I wasn’t worried, I just went in the house and got her leash and when I came out of the house she was nowhere in sight. I walked around the neighborhood several times, calling her, but she never showed up. I checked back alleyways, I went through backyards, I asked people with dogs if they saw my dog. She basically just disappeared.

What made me mad were the electricians. The contractor, who is remodeling our house, said he called the electrician and the secretary said, ‘the owner opened the gate and let her out then chased her.’ I was like, does that sound logical at all? Uh, no… I don’t open the gate so that she can run out into the street just so I can chase her. Stupid mutha fuckin’ electricians. First, I didn’t open any gate. Second, they were the ones walking in and out of the front and back door. I hate those idiots.

I left the back gate open in hopes she’d come to the back door and bark like she does when its dinner time. She never barked. She never came.

The kids cried, and are sad, and always look outside waiting for her to come back. It’s hard to see them like that.

Last night I checked the local Humane Society’s website pictures. They update daily.

And there she is. At least I think that’s her. She looks all scruffy – a total mess. But she’s so unique that even her description makes me believe it is her. How the heck did she get there and what did she do till she got there?

Her description at the Humane Society is: Spayed female, black and gray Terrier and Greyhound,
about 6 years old. She has the legs of a Greyhound, when I got her from the pound they thought she was a sheep dog and Shepherd mix… Later I found out she was, and had all the features of a Irish Wolfshound.