I'll Be Good

That is what my Labrador/mix and my renegade Carolina dog are whimpering to me from my back deck. --But I don't believe them. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." What did they do that was so terrible that I won't let them spend time with me this evening? They made an escape, not once, not twice, but three time!

All I wanted was to come home and rest after a long day at school. I had to stop at the store in town, to buy ice cream for a bake sale tomorrow at school. I know, ice cream at a bake sale, but it sells and is an easy way to contribute. Anyway, the checker at the store loaded all my groceries except--you guessed it--the ice cream! Naturally, I didn't find this out till I got home.

As I was unloading the groceries, the garage back door flung opened and the dogs ran through the garage and through the front yard. My son and I called them, but they weren't coming back. As I took the groceries into the house, my son tried to chase them down. They were outrunning him and having a great time. Did I mention that it was raining?

My dogs have an odd habit. They always respond to the sound of my car's engine. The minute they hear the motor running, it is like a moth to a flame. When my son didn't quickly return with the animals, I started up the engine and began to drive down the block. They magically appeared in the middle of the road. I opened the car door, drove home, and parked in the driveway. Adam led them into the house and out to the back yard. The only problem was, both the garage doors were still opened. Within minutes, the dogs were leading 25 year old son on a merry chase through the neighborhood. Again I drove down the street till they returned for another drive home. They were happy, happy dogs, despite the scolding they received.

I called the grocery store and asked about my ice cream. Sure, I could come back and pick up another gallon. Lucky me, another drive into town. When I returned to the garage I noticed something was amiss. The garage door was cracked only about an inch high, just fifteen minutes before. Now it was up about two feet from the ground. Then I realized that the back door was ajar, once again. The dogs must have used their noses to push the heavy garage door opened enough to escape a third time! Who knew they had it in them?

I went to pick up my ice cream while my son scouted the neighborhood. It took about 45 minutes to find them this time. We decided to split up the pack. Taz rode home in the car with me while Dixie Belle walked home with Adam. Each whimpered to be reunited with the other.

They were reunited in my back yard and they have been whimpering ever since. They are going to stay outside, too, at least until I get the wet dog smell out of the back seat of my car.