Our Misadventure in Chana

A few weeks back, we were out picking up goat feed. (Sometimes it smacks me in the face: "Woah. Our family really raises goats. Hm.) Sam found this local guy who mills his own feed that is supposedly superior to what you can find in the feed store and is similarly priced. So, off we went to Chana, about a half an hour away.

We've been trying to acclimate Sadie to riding in the car lately, so we brought her along. As Sam was leading her out, I noted she didn't have her harness on, and since Sam didn't seem concerned about it, I didn't grab it, or her leash. (Can you see where this is going?)

We arrive in Chana, and Sam gets out of the car, opens the back hatch, and goes to find the seller. I was doing something I'm sure very important in the front seat, and wasn't paying attention to Sadie. The girls, also occupied, weren't really paying attention, either, but they have the excuse of being young. :) Anyway, I feel the back of the car depress and turn to see Sadie has jumped into the back of the car. I have time to get out, "Sadie, NO!" before she's OUTTA THERE.

I'm out of the car and trying to chase her, calling to Sam to come out, screaming for Sadie to stop. I don't know how many of you are acquainted with how a Shar-pei moves, but these dogs are powerfully built and crazy fast. I run into the building to get Sam and by the time we get out behind it to find the dog, she is GONE. No sign of her whatsoever.

Now, I know the girl can move. But, we were staring out at very flat fields, that have yet to be planted. It was bizarre not seeing any trace. We stood there a few minutes, calling and trying to puzzle out where she could have gone, then walked around calling for another twenty minutes, trying to see if we could figure out even which direction she may have headed. I was fighting down my panic, which I don't do particularly well under normal circumstances. For my pregnant self, this was almost too much.

It was freezing cold, drizzling, and the feed guy eventually came out, so I picked my way back through the mud to the car while Sam took care of things. He told the guy what had happened, and then we drove around a while, asking anyone we saw if they had seen a dog they didn't recognize wandering around. No one had. By this time, I couldn't hold the tears back anymore. You need to understand, I tend to fall in love pretty quickly with any living thing under my care (plants included) but this dog....this is "Sam's dog." And my heart was breaking for my poor husband. My mind was reeling with what I could do to ease the blow, who I needed to call, wracking my brain for breeders we had come across, determined to drive however far I needed to to find a replacement that very day, and that I was absolutely going to get the new dog microchipped!

Sam was holding it together really well, even using the awful circumstances to teach our girls why it's so important to stay by mom and dad in unknown places. :) "Look how upset Mom is, and that's just over Sadie! How do you think she'd feel if this was one of you??"

After I don't know how long, but to me it didn't seem long enough, Sam said, "I don't know what else we can do." I stared at him, aghast. "We're giving up?" He shrugged. "She's nowhere out here." The girls both started to whine and protest, close to tears themselves. I said, "We have to at least check in the other direction." So, Sam drove back the way we had come and THANK THE HEAVENS! Sadie had come back to the scene of her disappearance and the guy we bought the feed from was trying to lure her to him with a dog treat. :) It was pretty funny, watching, knowing her personality. She wasn't taking that treat from him for anything. She wasn't aggressive, but had her nose in the air, smelling for us, and had this look on her face, "I don't know you, so, no thanks." He had a leash in one hand, a treat in the other, and he had, bless his heart, followed her as she had gone across the street looking for us.

I was so grateful and so relieved. I was touched that this young man had taken the time to keep an eye out for our dog, and had tried to get her for us. It seems like such a basic thing to do, but unfortunately, the basics of human decency are becoming a lost art. I wanted to hop out and give this guy a big hug.

So, we got our darn dog back. :) I'm so glad. She really is a big part of our family, and even though I never thought I'd want a family dog, much less an indoor family dog, I love that wrinkly-faced sweetie pie.

And now, she never goes ANYWHERE without her harness and a leash. :)

Pure Genius

I have fallen in love.

Adele - Cold Shoulder

Adele - Rolling in the Deep

She is utterly brilliant.