thebeckybug

This is a true account of my Sunday, the Sunday that I lost my dog.

8:30am Half awake. Let the dogs out. Go back to bed.

10:30 Hear Carson let Kerbey back inside and am fully awoken by “Shit! Shade got out.”

10:31 Carson gets in his car and drives off.

10:32 I walk outside in PJs and yell for the dog hoping he nonchalantly trots into view.

10:35 Remember that there is a neighborhood yahoo group, sign up for it, send out a mass email and think about what to do next.

10:36 Realize that Shade does not have his collar on. Panic sets in. I cry.

10:45 Get in the car with Carson and check the highway and other major roadways, dreading the worst.

10:55 Relieved to not have found a fuzzy lifeless lump - yet. He’s also not at the dog park. I’m pretty sure everyone in our neighborhood is now awake from me belting “SHADE! BUBBA!” down every street, multiple times.

10:56 We head to the shelter.

11:15 No word at the shelter or their databases. Similar dog found on the other side of town, but not Shade.

11:30 I make signs and fliers as Carson continues to search the neighborhood by foot.

11:40 Carson searches craigslist, I post to craigslist.

11:50 We hit the town with signs, fliers and a staple gun.

11:55 I hand out fliers to everyone we pass and even wake up our back-yard neighbors to hand them fliers. All phone poles around our house are plastered with a sign.

12:30pm Every open business in the surrounding area has a flier. Every person at any park in the immediate area has a flier and has told me: sorry, good luck.

12:35 I call on my parental units to send positive vibes and to will my dog back.

12:45 It is getting hot outside now and we are starting to melt as we continue to drive around the neighborhood. In desperation I jingle his collar out the window and shout his name. I cry.

1:15 Back home, I decide to try Kerbey’s nose out. She leads me down the street a few blocks and then back home. Note to self: must invest in a basset hound.

2:00 I am searching every lost pet database known to man. Losing heart. Trying to take Dad’s advise: find a place, calm the brain as much as possible, be open and wait for a feeling.

2:01 I am realizing that it is hard to wait. I also realize that I have been voicing every thought I’ve had this morning. A lot of my thoughts sound desperate. I’m finding it hard to breathe. I can’t stand the thought of someone else having my dog or the thought that I just might have to live the rest of today, tomorrow, my life, without Shade.

2:30 Carson is scouring the neighborhood by bicycle. Good thing, too: Shade loves to chase people on bicycles.

3:00 Carson starts calling every vet and hospital and groomer and kennel in the area. I continue to search the internet, hoping the pup will materialize. I cry.

3:15 While on the phone with a vet, Carson cuts the call short because an unknown number is calling. I hold my breath.

3:16 I hear the following coming from the other side of the phone:
“Hi, I’m pretty positive we found your dog, but it’s kinda complicated …” Still holding my breath. Then something about scanned for microchip, parents headed to Houston and blah blah blah.

3:17 I can breathe now. Instead of breathing, I cry, the best cry all day.

3:18 I called my mom and ask if she can pick up Shade in Houston for us. She said yes, and she can come visit us later next week and bring him home.

3:20 Carson hangs up and fills me in: A neighbor found Shade sniffing around in their yard early this morning. As Shade always makes the best first impressions, they decided to take him in and save him from the streets. The neighbor’s parents were in town and had lost a dog recently. Having found this wonderfully happy dog, they were filled with joy and mixed feelings. The dog didn’t have a collar on so they took him to be scanned for a microchip. No microchip was found. At about noon the parents headed back to Houston, Shade in tow. At about 3:12 our neighbor saw a posted sign on her way back from running errands and called us immediately. She then put us in touch with her parents.

3:25 High five! We found him, and Carson was right: someone did find him and wanted to keep him. This is no surprise to Carson. I am pretty sure that when I call the couple headed to Houston, they will be relieved to know that the new dog smelling and furring up their back seat actually belongs to someone else. They will also be surprised to know that we actually want the smelly, furry, crazy, drooly dog back. I’ll have to explain that I actually find his back-seat flatulents endearing. They will think I am crazy.

3:26 I give Carson the option to have my mom pick him up and return him later this week.

3:30 Carson said he has to drive to Houston right now and pick up our dog, himself. It is hard to wait around after searching all morning. We gas up the car and head to Houston.

3:35 I am relieved that in the conversation with the people who have our dog, I did not mention flatulents. She describes the dog they have as “a character,” and says “He looks like he’s ready to go.” I am now 100% certain the dog they have is our Shade.

6:30 In a Target parking lot we reunite with our dog. We say “thank you” to a very nice lady and head to to have some dinner with my mother since we’re in the area.

8:30 Carson, Shade and I head back to Austin.

10:30 I am awoken from my car-nap by a smell permeating the inside of my nose. I am relieved to know that contrary to what my nose is telling me, yes, the dog in the back seat is still alive. Carson informs me Shade’s farts have continually been accompanying us the whole ride home. It is clear that none of us could imagine being any happier.

11:00pm All back home with two wonderful dogs again, tired from our Sunday adventure.