Running Away

I had to make some adjustments when I brought Max home. First I discovered Max darted out the door as fast as you can say the first letter of his name.  Then he ran out of the yard, but with my luck, it wasn't to the next door neighbors.

 The First time he ran to the end of our block.  I heard the construction workers laughing as they watched me zig-zag after Max, shouting his name. He wheels around garbage bins, bushes and turns the corner of the neighbors house. I'm exhausted. But thoughts of him disappearing forever reel through my mind, so I hit the gas pedal and follow him through brush, mud and onto the golf course.

I spot a foursome of men getting ready to tee off. Max barked and flew straight for them. Thp, Thp, Thp..... I screamed, "Max, No."

One of the men turned around, points his finger at Max and says, "Max, No."

Max halted. His ears twitched. This was the perfect opportunity to capture him. My feet became jets. I reached Max, grabbed him and apologized for the interruption. The golfer told me not to worry. Whew! I was fortunate it was a friendly group of men.

The second time Max darted out onto to the golf course, I was fortunate it was Roberta and Tony teeing off. When Max escaped, he jumped into the pond to capture a duck. The duck flew off and Max circled back to shore and onto the course with me screaming, "Max, No."

He stopped to check out Roberta. But as soon as I approached him, he darted toward the cart path and
headed North. My energy was low. I couldn't run any further. Instead of chasing him, I thought I'd try hiding. Ah, it worked. He began looking for me. Thp, Thp, Thp....as he got closer, Thp, Thp, Thp...I
flew out from my hiding spot but just missed him by an inch.

Max ran back to Roberta, she threw a golf ball and he ran after it.  I was huffing and puffing, barely able to stand.  I knelt down, placed my hands over my eyes and pretended to cry, hoping Max would come over. But Max had the golf ball and he had no plans to come anywhere near me. Instead, he trotted through the sand traps. Finally, I had one last trick left in my hat. If it didn't work, then I would have to either continue following him with the hope he would eventually tire out or go home, wait for
a call from the humane society or a vet breaking the "bad news" over the phone. I strolled toward the
house and told him, "Good bye, Max. I'm going home." His ears perked up, he whirled around and raced past me straight to the lanai door. Thumpity, Thumpity, Thumpity.....

One of Edgar Allen's Poe's characters could hear a heartbeat underneath a floor in his house. Actually, he was imagining it.

If I could hear my heartbeat it would go Thump,Thump, Thump.....If I were happy it would go Thumpity, Thumpity, Thumpity.....and if I were nervous or scared it would go Thp, Thp, Thp....


I brought Max home and Norm was out of town, which would give me time to bond with him.
Thumpity, Thumpity, Thumpity.

But how was Norm going to react?
Thp, Thp, Thp

Norm returns home the following day and asks, "Whose dog is that?"
Thp, Thp, Thp.
It's Roses,  I babysitting for it."


I take Max for a walk.
Thumpity, Thumpity, Thumpity

I return home and Norm discovers Max is our dog. "Now you have a dog and have lost a husband"
Thp, Thp, Thp.

I remember when I was a little girl and if I ate a lot for a meal, my mother would say, "Where is all that food going. You must have a hole in your stomach."

Well, I swore that night while I was sleeping a snake slithered into my opened mouth, slid down into my stomach and found the hole. It slithered out and began to wrap itself around my stomach.

I awoke with Thp, Thp, Thp and a snake trying to squeeze the life out of my stomach. Needless to say, I woke up crying and explained to Norm I really wanted a dog and that I really, really, really missed Kustard. After several minutes of sobbing he agreed that it was fine to have a dog. He let Max sit on his lap.
Thumpity, Thumpity, Thumpity.

I don't know what happened to the snake, but I was feeling full. Thump, Thump, Thump.....

Chapter 2 MAX

I stared at the long rows of steel bars enclosing each kennel. A mix scent of dog hair and cement trickled into my nose. Barking echoed throughout the room. I glanced at all the dogs. My heart flurled.  I turned and said to the young girl in the room. "I'll take them all home."

She glanced at me and chuckled as she slid a dish into a kennel.

I stepped toward the first dog and studied his profile as he stood on his hind legs and barked. I calmly told him to sit. When he did I told him he was a "good puppy." I felt a tightness in my throat. I inched toward the next kennel. Inside was a small, white, wavy-haired dog. He jumped up and down on his hind legs, begging me to take him. He was a small, the size I wanted. I checked his age. Two years. Too old.

After observing each dog, I didn't find one I couldn't live without. As I began to leave, I took one final look. My eyes halted at the kennel with the short white dog. Ummm, how old and what kind of dog is he? On the plastic coated paper it read, miniature poodle mix. age two years.

I swivelled around and asked the young lady if I could take him out.

"Just a minute, I have to get a leash," she said.

 I extended my hand out. A black nose tickled my fingertips. My heart felt as though it was made of pudding.

Max

On Sunday, January 4, 2012,  I was feeling blue and missed having a dog around. It had been an entire year since Kustard was called to live with the most loving, powerful master in the universe.

 I waited a year and knew I was ready for another dog. I made the decision to start searching, starting in Fort Myers and working my way down to Naples.  When I'd find THE dog,  I would discuss, beg, plead and cry to convince Norm to have the sound of an excited greeting fill our home again.

I entered the Fort Myers rescue kennel. The young man behind the counter asked me if he could help me. I responded, "I thought I'd  start looking for a  dog,  but I'm not planning on taking one home with me.  Just looking."

He grinned and replied, "I've heard that before and the person walked out of the kennel with a dog."

"Not me." I smiled and strolled through the doors leading to a plain grey room of jumpy, wiggly, furry, four legged creatures. A roomful of love, a roomful of dogs. "I'm just looking."