Annnnd he’s off...

There is a bounty out for the groundhog. Seriously.  He predicted an early Spring.  What a joke.  On Sunday night we got snow.  Enough snow so that the snow plow guy - who has already been paid twice because he thought the season was over, had to come again. Now if it had been December, it would have been quite pretty.  But April, not so much.  Still, by the afternoon on Monday, the sun was shining and some of the winter wonderland WAS beginning to disappear.  A bit. So my human decided to take all of us down to the lake.  And for some reason, which is hard to guess, she decided to put the FG on a long line.  And she let him free...

It all started out well.  He was running down the trail with me and Einstein and was staying quite close.  My human even called all of us to “come” and we all did - because she had stuffed her pockets with extra yummy treats.  And all was a great moment.  Note I said moment...

We got down to the lake and a cold wind was blowing and the water was choppy.  The FG was fascinated with the waves.  He watched them.  

And he put his head back and took in all of nature’s aromas.

And then.   He looked along the shoreline.  

And in that instant, my human suddenly saw the Picard brain wheels moving. Fast. He started moving along the shoreline.  And she lunged for the longline. And she made that “hey buddy, Elroy” voice - the one that is a cross between fear and begging. And he knows that voice. And for him it spells “FREEDOM.”  And he was gone. Along the shore and into the woods.  Well.  Snow or not, uneven, wooded, swampy terrain or not - she laid chase. And she told us to help.  Einstein just looked at me, rolled his eyes and ran along.  Over downed trees, around thick brush and around puddles.  Unfortunately, my human took her OWN route and ended up stepping in a wet swampy hole that was deep enough to go over her boots - leaving her with wet socks and mucky pants. “Agggggggghhhhhh” she shouted at the heavens.  She could see the FG darting among the trees at warp speed. He was out of sight for about 20 seconds and then circled back like a freight train off the rails. He ran so fast she couldn’t grab the line- and he headed for a place along the shore.  I think he ended up in the water, and then he jumped out and that only fueled the race.  So now he was not only swampy, and covered in sticks but he was wet too.  But for some reason, he circled back again and this time my human fell on the line.  Busted.  The problem was she now had the get the now bucking bronco swamp monster back home through the woods.  And - I neglected to mention- she wasn’t wearing gloves. So her hands were freezing- and the wild thing was pulling so hard she could barely hold on. Then she remembered an old trick.  She took the leash, ran it down his back and then looped it around his belly. Instant power steering. We all trudged back to our trail and up to the house. 

I guess the FG still isn’t quite ready to run free.  Mind you, my human didn’t try her trusty whistle.  She didn’t even bring it.  No comment on that brilliant move.

It’s kind of nice to be the good dog for a change. Although , I hope though that I’m not losing my edge. We’ll see...I COULD go off looking for that groundhog.  Once the snow melts...

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up!

Seizure-free days: 5