this evening, i came home from work and changed into t-shirt, jeans and flip-flops to head out into the pouring down rain to get the 5 free sandbags that the city was handing out. we are having epic amounts of rain here in dc and flooding is common. i wanted to be able to protect the basement if needed. i loaded up the sandbags and then headed to frager's for some other home care stuff.
by the time i got back J was beside himself. he was in his kennel, but clearly ready to be out. i'm sure hearing the heavy rain and thunder didn't help him stay to calm today. he's a really good and cuddly dog, so i was looking forward to having him out and to myself until PL got home.
we went downstairs together and i let him out into the backyard. i stopped to talk with the neighbor for a minute and kept an eye on J. the next thing i know, he has figured out that the back gate was not locked, opened it and slipped out into the back alley. i immediately take off after him. keep in mind that it's raining, i'm wearing flip-flops, and i don't have his leash or my cell phone with me, and i left the back door wide open. all i have is the key to the laundry room and my driver's license in my pocket.
at first i think i have a chance of catching him, because he's letting me get pretty close before taking off again and he's moving pretty slow. we get to the front corner and he's stopped, trying to do his business, so i try to grab his collar but he jumps back and snaps at me with a little growl. he's obviously not ready to be caught.
after that it's game on, and J just simply takes off with me in hot pursuit after him. i'm yelling for him to come, he'll stop and mark a tree, and then wait until i about catch up with him before taking off again. this darn dog is playing with me. well, then it gets serious, because he's running into traffic at the intersections. thankfully, drivers are stopping for him and me, so he gets through safe. after about five blocks of running after him, two young men start helping me as well and then a third joins in. they are younger and can run a lot faster, so they can keep up better with J.
by this time, we are well on our way to lincoln park, but i can't see J any more. i'm praying, that those young men can keep up with him and that no matter what happens he doesn't get hurt. i get to lincoln park and can hear a dog crying in the distance like it's in distress. i just know it's J and that he's been hurt.
i get to the middle of the park, and i see three young men with an older gentleman walking towards me. they have a black and white dog on a leash, and it's J safe and sound. i'm so relieved. i grab onto J's collar, say thank you to all four gentlemen, and start walking home.
as we walk home, we pass by people sitting outside who are all happy that i caught him and making comments to that effect. the young men are also following me part of the way and J keeps trying to go back and say hi to them. J is also having trouble breathing because i'm holding onto his collar and it's pressing on his throat. this causes a guy to stop and ask me what sort of dog J is. i tell him, adding that he's in trouble because he ran away and we are on our way home. the concern on the man's face clears up when he hears this and i'm just glad that he doesn't say anything else to me, because i'm mad at J for this little adventure we just went on.
we get home finally and my roommate is at the backdoor wondering what the heck happened. i explain and J gets put in time out. i'm just thankful the escapee is home safe and sound. he's now totally exhausted after his two mile run/walk, and so am i.
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| J in timeout. isn't he a beauty? |
my roommate is pretty cool and hadn't panicked, but was starting to feel concerned when she went to go upstairs after realizing that J and i were not home, and saw J's lease in the basket inside the front door. that's when she knew something was up. thankfully we got home just after she started putting everything together.
all in all, a very unexpected exciting evening.
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