“The dogs are gone!” I ran into the house, screaming that over and over. My then husband Eugene and I were having a business meeting with friends Sheryl and Bruce at their house. Our Winnebago RV was parked in their driveway – our four dogs inside.
I’d gone out to our motor home to get some papers. Opened the door. No big doggie greeting. Huh? What was wrong with that picture?
I had looked around – not a single dog to be seen. The motor home wasn’t one of those ultra huge ones. It was just a 20-footer, so I could see everything inside in one sweeping glance from right to left.
Did the Kids Do It?
We were in a residential neighborhood parked in a friend’s driveway, so hadn’t locked the door to the RV. We immediately figured that kids must have come along and opened the door. The dogs were probably having a great time running around the neighborhood.
We immediately set out searching the area. We hadn’t been in the house very long before finding the dogs gone. Normally, that would mean that they wouldn’t have gotten too far, but these guys were whippets. Real runners.
They could have been halfway across the state in no time. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea, right?
Thirty minutes after we’d gone off in various direction, we came back together at the house to figure out our next steps.
Or Were We the Guilty Ones?
All of a sudden, an idea hit me. I asked Eugene whether he remembered having the dogs in the motor home when we left the park where we’d had our picnic supper. Neither one of use could say for sure that they were with us for the drive from the park to Bruce and Sheryl’s home.
Could we possibly have left them in the park?
We’d been at Mile Square Park. Like the name says, it’s a huge park – a mile wide by a mile long. It was fenced in and empty, so we’d let the dogs run free. (This was before leash laws became the norm.)
Had we really packed up our picnic items, but forgotten the dogs?
We got into two cars and drove over to the park which was closed and locked down by that time. Oh, no. How could we find out if the dogs were there if we couldn’t get inside?
We drove along the sides of the park and found a place where the fence had partially come down. Got out and screamed the names of the dogs.
In seconds, they came running – all together – happy as pigs in s***. We got them over the fence and into the car.
Did they look confused? Or repentant? Not at all.
They looked like they’d been having a great time – as if they wanted to thank us for letting them party hearty.
Check out some of my other posts -
What Kind of Freedom Do You Want?
What’s Under Those Headscarves?
Are You a Tourist or a Traveler
Are These 'Facts' Really True? Part 1
Traveling Before vs Traveling Now
Do You Brush Your Dog's Teeth?
Lazy Bum? Teacher? Tour Director? Writer? Which Is It, Kate?
Great post :) Thanks for sharing
"Did they look confused? Or repentant?"
Did YOU look confused and repentant? - that's the big question.
Upvoted for the entertainment you've provided.
Gary
I know. That was my sense of humor coming through. You'd better believe I've never done that again.
How fortunate that the park was fenced in! I can imagine that they had a great time though, and I can imagine the heart-stopping moment you must have had when you realized they were probably still at the park.
Thanks for sharing your story. Dog stories are the best.
Thanks, queenvick. Yes, it was truly heart-stopping. I can look back now and think how funny it was only because it had a happy ending.
Oh what a great story!! With a really great happy ending. That's wonderful that they had a ball and were able to jump the fence to come to momma!
It's a wonderful story now because of the happy ending, but it could have ended so differently. And believe me, I was overly careful after that.
thanks for your entry, I have read and evaluated it 👍.
A great story Kate, illustrating an event that any one of us could potentially be involved in. Glad you got them all back in the end though.
Thanks @appent. Yes, I had a few rough moments, but it ended well. And the doggies had a lot of fun while I was having those rough moments.