This morning I was out the door on my way to work. I was running a few minutes behind my drill-sergeant, timed-to-the-minute morning schedule, but it's summer so I wasn't worried about it. I drove past my neighbor's house and his dog was playing crazily in his front yard. I didn't see him anywhere, so I pulled over to check on the dog.
She was very happy, jumping on me (yay for dirt and wet dog smell on my work clothes), and rolling around. She had her tongue to the side like she sometimes does. She looked very excited to see me (she kept jumping, and standing up on her back legs) and content to play in the yard. I looked for my neighbor and still didn't see him. I grabbed her collar and walked over to the door. It was locked (it never is!). I knocked on the door. No answer.
Even though it's 7:40 in the morning, I call my neighbor. The call drops. I call again and it goes straight to voicemail. I wait through his message and am about to leave a message when he beeps in.
"I have Schaui," I say before he can get anything out. "Is she supposed to be running around the front yard?"
"I'm in Florida," he replies.
So I take it that she is not supposed to be frolicking in the morning dew unsupervised.
"My roommate is supposed to be watching her. I guess she got out."
She did have the proud look of accomplishment on her doggie face. It must have been a feat.
"Is [Roommate name here] home? Is his white car there?" he asks.
I tell him that the car is there and that no one answered when I knocked.
"Can you put her in the backyard?"
I stay on the line as I walk to the gate, and grimace at the red mud between me and the gate. I journey through in my work clothes, glad I opted for Chaco's instead of the stilettos I had in my hand when I walked out the door. I stuff the dog in the back yard and close the latch on the gate. I wonder if she'll manage to sneak out of the gate again. Hope not.
I hang up with my neighbor and head on to work. I make sure to stop by the bathroom to wash off some of the mud and dog fur.
