The Lost Dog

Sunday I ran outside. It was harder than I expected it to be because I hate the route I use, and it was really hot out there. The sun was blaring down, and there was little to no wind. I found myself really struggling in the heat. I suppose it didn't help that I hadn't eaten any breakfast before the run either.

Near the end of the run, Aaron came out to meet me. "Oh, how sweet," I thought, "he saw me close to home and came to find me."

No. That wasn't it.

The dog had managed to escape the yard and had disappeared. Aaron was frantically looking for him and asked if I had seen him. I replied no, and became a more frantic searcher than Aaron. Despite the heat and my fatigue (I was, after all, done with 3.2 miles of simultaneous running & melting) I suddenly burst into a run, shouting at the top of my lungs, "Tobey! Come here, good boy! Come on puppy! Okay! Tobey?!?" I was really beginning to panic because there was no response, and he's usually so responsive to my voice.

We did, finally, find Tobey. He was at the park chasing kids around on their bikes. When I shouted his name and he saw me, he burst into a run straight for me. I felt so relieved, especially since we arrived just as one of the bike kids was shouting, "Hey, Mom! There's a dog following me home!" Thank heavens we made it there before they finished climbing in the car with our little puppy.

Following this particular running experience, I discovered two very important things:
1. If I run outside, I need to run earlier and on a new route.
2. The dog cannot be let into the yard until he's microchipped and we've fixed the fence. No exceptions.

All in all, definitely a learning experience.