Our Dogs At The Deli

A little something to brighten your day.  Yesterday, per our usual routine, we took our lovable juvenile delinquents to one of their favorite dog parks.  We were having a great time – I walk and they sniff every square inch of grass and punctuate it with what we call “zoomes” – running full out for the sheer joy of enjoying themselves.  Near the end of our routine, I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, that Jack (our black lab ) was on the wrong side of the fencing.   I called for him and he looked back at me with a glance that said – “you’ve got to be kidding,” and took off for parts unknown.  While I was trying to figure out what to do next, Jill (our yellow lab), found the hole in the fence, caught up with Jack, and they were soon out of sight.

I went back to the car, and Arleah and I did some commiserating and anticipatory grieving.  We have been thru this a couple of times before and knew how useless it would be to aimlessly drive around looking for them.  So we said our goodbyes (not really meaning them) and drove off to get some dinner.  We use a service called “Home Again” that provides a tag with their phone number.  When someone finds the dog, they call the number, and the service calls us.  It has worked twice before; once when Bonnie and Clyde (their runaway names), were over 10 miles away from our place.  

So with fingers crossed, and our hearts in our tummies, we drove off to a fast food place.  We were in a line of cars when Arleah’s phone rang, and sure enough, it was the Home Again people telling us that someone had our dogs, and gave us their phone number.  We called immediately, and the following dialogue ensued:

Us:  I think you found our dogs.

Rescuer:  Do you have a black and a yellow lab?

Us:  Sure do.  Where are you located?

Rescuer:  At Rosauers (supermarket, a few miles from the dog park)

Us:  Did you find them in the parking lot?

Rescuer:  No.  They were at the deli counter.

Us:  You mean the deli counter in the store?

Rescuer:  Yep.  They must have come in with some customers (remember, this is Montana.  I’m sure a number of people walked by them and thought it was odd that two labs were sitting at the deli counter; but no cause for concern.).

Us:  We can’t thank you enough.  We’ll be right over to get them.

We drove to the store, and there they were – sitting on the sidewalk with a young store employee, who had fashioned a couple of makeshift leashes for them.  This was one of those moments when you’re trying to balance feelings of utter relief, with moments of anger.  

Jack and Jill showed no remorse, nor appealed for forgiveness.  For them, it was just an

unexpected outing.  We all had dinner, settled down for the evening, and were glad to be together again.

Morrie Shechtman