Just wondering if you've noticed, depending on where you happen to be on this great planet of ours, the dog days of summer appear to be truly here. Because of that, and also just because Paula's dog is really cute and cool, he agreed to share a true adventure with you today. By having it made public, he hopes it will help his mom with her PTSD symptoms that surface every time he's out of her sight for too long! And in case you're wondering about "dog days," here's a definition from dictionary.com... |
Dog days are from July 3 to August 11. I'm hoping it's true that after this we should get some rain!
Here's Toby!
Hello people, my name is Toby and as you can see, I’m a very handsome American Cocker Spaniel. Yes, you can pet me. I’m friendly and lovable. I’m here today to tell you a story about my Mom and me. It’s one of those stories that was really quite frightening at the time, but now it’s okay to laugh about it. Know what I mean? Well, at least that’s what Mom says. |
Maybe I should tell you a little bit about us.
I’m eight years old and I live with Mom and my brother “Tommy 2.” Tommy’s an orange-striped Tabby Cat. We don’t look anything alike so most people find it difficult to believe that we’re brothers. We’re also very different from one another in just about every way. To be perfectly honest with you, I can’t figure out my brother Tommy. One day he’s happy and wants to play with me. The next day he acts like I don’t even exist. |
Mom loves us and spoils us both.
Enough about us... On to my story!
Ahhhh, Dude... THIS is the life! I love rides more than steak bones!
Mom pulled into the parking lot and hopped out of the car and headed for the supermarket. I waited and watched for Mom to come back out to the car but I’m not very patient. A few minutes later I decided to look for Mom so I jumped out the window and onto the huge parking lot filled with hundreds of cars. Wow! I can’t believe I did that! I never knew how easy it is to free myself from the car.
Now I can tell you “the rest of this story,” based upon what I discovered much later, that happened later into the night and next day….
Mom arrived back home and like always, she got busy doing whatever it is Moms do. The sun was beginning to set and we could hear the boom and crackle of the first burst of fireworks from the July 4th display being held at the Lake.
That’s when Mom thought about me and went to the door to call me in. She knows how scared I get and knew I would want to be safely inside, being close to her for comfort. “Toby! Toby! C’mon, boy! Let’s go! Come inside!” Mom was shocked I didn’t come running immediately. She kept calling and clapping her hands as she walked onto the deck. She also whistled, even though she’s not very good at it. Her poor excuse for a whistle makes me laugh.
What I hate is all the firecrackers going off, one after another, all over the neighborhood! I hate to admit this, but those sounds scare the heck outta me! As soon as they start, I run to find Mom and I stay really close to her while I tremble and try to hide behind her. Most of the time I jump onto her lap. For some reason, she always laughs at me and calls me, “a big baby!”
In the evening after dinner, I saw Mom slip her shoes on and grab her purse, while she talked to herself. She talks to herself a lot and I know exactly what she’s saying. That night I heard, “I guess I’ll run to the store to pick up a few things.”
I followed right behind her. I wasn’t going to let her go without me! Mom’s got this habit of zeroing in to concentrate on one thing so she zones out what’s going on around her. In hindsight, I know she wasn’t consciously aware I hopped into the back seat.
Off we went cruisin' down Route 5. All the windows were open and the radio playing one of my favorite songs by Three Dog Night!
Panic strikes
Not seeing me anywhere began to upset Mom. She walked around the yard, near the woods, and down to the creek, calling my name the whole time. She was baffled and began to seriously worry. Her mind was whirling, wondering where I could possibly have gone! That’s when the stream of rambling thoughts rolled through her head….. “Oh Toby, where ARE you? This is not like you. You never leave the yard--especially now, with the fireworks going off! You would be standing at the door, whining with your stubby little tail wagging, anxious to come in! Oh, dear! Where’s my baby?” |
When morning came and I still wasn’t home, Mom called my brother Rob. Rob is one of my human brothers and he lives close by. Now Mom’s voice was shaking as she told Rob about me being lost. He told her to relax and he’d come over to help find me.
For more than an hour, Rob walked all around and into the woods, even down to the creek and out to the road. Everyone knew I’d never go near the road! He even walked to the neighbor’s house to talk to him but “No, no one had seen me.” Rob came home and called the Animal Control Officer and gave my description. Now Mom was crying when Rob had to leave. It was time for him to go to work.
Again the thoughts went through Mom’s head….. ”Toby, please come home. Where can you be? No one would have taken you, would they? You’ve never done this before! Were you so scared you just ran and ran? No! You wouldn’t have done that. You would want to be with me!”
The only thing Mom could do was keep busy and stop stressing over me. She started getting things done around the house, doing laundry and catching up on email--anything she could think of, to keep her mind off me.
The search ended hours later when the phone rang. Rob had called saying, “ Mom, Toby’s mug shot is on Facebook! The police have your dog. Get up to the station!”
Mom was happy but in shock. She just couldn’t believe it!
The Police Station is up the street from our house, about a quarter of a mile. In minutes Mom was there to bail me out. The Animal Control Officer met Mom in the lobby and showed her my mug shot on his phone. “Is this your dog, Mrs. Jay?” “Yes! That’s Toby... Where is he?”
The Officer told Mom she could follow him to the holding center where she could pick me up and pay my bail.
When the lady brought me out of my cell, I was so excited and happy to see my Mom, I lay down on my side, wiggling and squirming. Of course, I even peed a little on the floor! (That’s what we Cockers do when we’re overwhelmed. We just can’t help it!) Mom kept hugging me and smiling.
The realization
All the way home, Mom talked to me and scolded me too, for jumping out of the car. That’s okay. I was so happy to be back with her, I didn’t care!
Back home I got lots of hugs and kisses and treats! I even had a nice warm bubble bath and got to sit next to Mom on the couch to watch my favorite show, “Animal Planet.”
“Wow,” I thought, “This is awesome! I like this! Oh, Mom, I love you! I promise to never run away again. Or maybe I will...?”
For a while after that fiasco, I wasn’t allowed to go with Mom when she left to go somewhere. The next time I did go, Mom closed all the windows and locked the doors. She pointed her finger at me and said, “DON’T even THINK about it!”
So, people, that’s my story and I’m stickin' to it!