Friday, October 19, 2012

Working at home

I have the pleasure of working at home sometimes, not often enough, but at least one day a week. Usually it goes very well. It looks something like this:

These pictures are taken while I am doing a Skype consult!




However this week on Wednesday, the 2 of them drove me insane!

We did our morning routine with a shorter walk because I knew I would be taking them out more. Hailey kept bugging to go outside and then just wanted to be out there. It made me want to go out and build a dog run (which I think will be a must have in the spring).

Then around 4:30, Hailey would not let up on wanting to go out. This is about the time the man normally gets home so I took them out. The minute I opened the door I knew I was screwed, I smelt the fox. There was nothing I could do but keep calling as Phod disappeared down the hill in the back, which caused Hailey to lose her mind and scream. I waited a few minutes calling as generally he comes right back. I could hear all the dogs over a street barking and knew he had gone far. I had to drag a screaming Hailey back into the house, grab my coat (it is cold out) and leash and then squeeze out the door without Lee escaping.  

Slowly I started walking in the direction he had run, calling his name and periodically pausing to listen for him coming. Just as I hit the path in the bush (which in places runs beside the road), I heard him and to my relief and horror, he was walking on the road. It appears he was heading for home.

As soon as he heard my voice, he turned and came through the bush to me. 
The whole thing was less than 10 minutes, but it felt like forever. I did my best to remain calm, and take deep breathes, although my heart was pounding so hard I thought it would explode.
Once we returned, Lee was thrilled to see him and the two wrestled and played. 

New rule: Phod goes out on leash. If we assess nothing is around, he goes off. He has had a few mini take offs the past few days and my heart can't take it!








10 comments:

  1. Oh God, you must of been worried to death, when he ran off.We have loads of cars where we live, so Mollie's always on the leash, until we get to the park :)xx00xx
    Mollie and Alfie

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  2. Yikes that must have been scary. We love a good fox chase but peeps is not keen either. Have a fabulous Friday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  3. At the "to my horror.." part, I thought you were going to say he had the fox in his mouth! That would have been something! We put up a temp fence made from horse fencing and steel posts, might be worth the $400 or so to build a little run out the living room door before the winter. Heck, if you install a doggy door, maybe that'll take care of the house messes too!

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  4. OMG! I would have had a heart attack! This is why our yard is fenced in. It is just to scary the thought of one of my dogs taking off! So glad everyones home safe and sound. :)

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  5. Just being a guy, thats what Bites does after dinner. Dad opens the back door and he is off barking and running, what for we have yet to figure out.
    Be very proud that Phod returns to you, love is great!!!

    Your Furiends
    Spooky She Devil Susie & Mitey Bites the Vampire Scottie

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  6. Oh no! We've had some moments with Bonnie where she takes off and doesn't come back when we initially call her. Of course, she's new to us and us with her, so I'm not totally surprised that her recall isn't as good as Bailey's. Do you find that with Zaphod as well, seeing as how he's also new to the family? I find it hard to get that balance between that I know Bailey will do and what Bonnie will do.

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  7. Ack! That would give me an absolute jolt. Loki's taken flight a couple times but never in pursuit, it's always because of his free-fallin' husky side. When it takes over, he boots it like a greyhound, he thinks the world is his to conquer! A dog run sounds like a great idea. A good tip with fencing is that snow will raise the height a few feet, so a 6ft fence can become a 4ft fence in no time. Have fun with the pack this weekend.

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  8. You poor thing! Pleased to hear you found him quickly

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  9. One comment to address all your wonderful comments:)

    Zaphod has had great recall since we got him. He has chased deer and always come back within a minute or two. Someone in this house things a dog run will look ugly. I point out that this same someone does 1/4 of the dogs care/outings. Time will tell. My heart did leap a little, but we survived. It is a blessing we are so far in the country away from traffic!

    Thanks for your concern.

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  10. I'm SO happy he came back - I was super worried reading your post!! My Mum is always paranoid that I'll run off one day so doesn't let me off the lead unless it's somewhere fenced, but we don't live in the country…..

    So happy you had a happy ending :)

    Wags to all,

    Your pal Snoopy :)

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