Our dogs ran off yesterday.  I looked outside and the gate at the back of our fenced yard was opened.  Panic ensued.  Lots of yelling, whistling and clapping (not sure what I thought the clapping would accomplish.)  I remembered the last time the escaped – they would never have stopped if I hadn’t been in pursuit – so I knew that, even though they had been out for less than 10 minutes, they could have been anywhere!

I started driving around (even though, as I said, they could have been anywhere).  Unfortunately all this occurred when I was supposed to be picking up the kids from school.  I pulled up to school 5 minutes late and yelled “GET IN!”  It could have been a get-away scene in a movie as we sped away.  OK, I wasn’t speeding.  Even in a panic I don’t speed in school zones.

After driving up and down every street around, I finally drove to a cul-de-sac that has access to the woods without trudging through waist-high brush.  I walked down the path and over the board “bridge” that crosses a creek.  It is literally a board.  Shockingly I didn’t fall in.  Admit it.  You were hoping I’d say I did.

I saw something brown pouncing around in the distance.  Then I saw TWO somethings brown.  I couldn’t get a good view, so stood there for a moment to make sure it wasn’t deer.  Too small for deer so it MUST be the dogs.

I started running through the muddy woods (in shoes I have only worn 3 times) getting closer and closer.  Yelling and whistling (and still clapping) even louder now.  I could only see one now and she wouldn’t come toward my calls.  She just kept jumping on top of a pile of branches, disappearing underneath them and reappearing again on top.

As I got really close, I stopped and got a good look.  It wasn’t the dogs.  It was a FOX!  And the branches were probably covering her den.

I just ran up on a Momma fox protecting her babies.

Crap!

Luckily she chose to forgive my stupidity and went back in the den as I ran back toward the car.

It had been over an hour, so my mind switched to figuring out which photo would show up best on the “Lost Dogs” flier.  Just then the phone rang.  A good Samaritan had my wet, muddy dogs in her garage!  They had followed the same creek I walked across all the way to her house.  About 3 miles away.

I think I’m going to buy one of those Potty Patch thingamabobs and never let the dogs outside again.

P.S. We never use that gate because it only leads to the waist high brush – and I was the only one home all day – so I’m left with the mystery of….Who let the dogs out?  Who? Who? Who?