My Dog Went AWOL
For the longest time my Grandmother has owned dogs. Usually two or three at a time, but there was a period where she had four. For the last 10 years or so she has had a doggie door leading out to a small, fenced yard where the dogs could run around. I always wondered why she had this small yard for them. I mean, she lives in the middle of NOWHERE. From her house it’s 20 miles to the nearest gas station and even further to a town. Really, it’s in BFE. I used to question why she had that yard and she would tell me that her dogs would run away. I mean, run away to where Grandma?
On the 4th of July – I found out. Not with her dogs though, with mine.
Five years ago I had a small Rat Terrier that I rescued from a vet hospital in McAlester Oklahoma. I loved that dog. I named her Sooner and she was my baby. When I moved from OK back to North Carolina, she was my passenger on that long trip home. It wasn’t long after we had moved back to NC that she got hit by a car. She didn’t make it. I was devastated. It hurt me so badly.
When my husband and I moved to Puerto Rico and found a place to live, we immediately got a dog. I love dogs and have grown up with them my entire life. So, we rescued a Sato (Spanish for street dog) and named him Tyrone. He is a little mixed breed but very friendly and well mannered. About a year later we were going to a pet shop to get some medicine for him. When we pulled up to the shop there were cages with puppies stacked outside. In one of the cages, I saw him. He was the most beautiful Rat Terrier that I had ever seen. He looked just like my baby Sooner. I couldn’t take looking at him. Just seeing him brought back all the memories and pain of losing my last Sooner. So, my husband bought him, right then and there.
That was two years ago. Sooner is still here today.
On the 4th, hubby and I went to Wal-Mart to buy a new DVD player as ours had so graciously died. When we got back, our neighbor told us that Sooner had gotten out of the fenced in yard and bolted. This was around 4pm. We hopped back in the truck and went to look for him. At 11pm, there was still no sign of him. He was gone.
I just knew that someone had picked him up and taken him. Even though Rat Terriers aren’t a breed for everyone, uneducated individuals might think that he was a Chihuahua. They are very popular here.
I couldn’t sleep that night. We made fliers and decided to return to our search the following morning.
It was a terrible, sleepless night. That morning my eyes were burning from the crying and lack of sleep. I was exhausted. I felt miserable.
We got back into the truck the next morning and started our search again. It was pouring down rain and a little chilly. We drove about a half mile down the road and what do you know… He was RIGHT THERE!
He was on someone’s porch in their house trying to keep dry. He was cold, wet, tired and hungry and I was so relieved. Aside from a few bite marks on his head and ears, he looks to be in good shape.
I am so glad that I found him. The next time he decides to go AWOL, I am giving him an Article 15.
When you are a pet owner and lover, you don’t realize your animals and how much they really mean to you unless they are not there. When they are gone, it makes you feel the pain and agony of losing a child. Take care of them.
