I was terrified, because Dash wasn't even wearing a collar because of his neck incision. He has a tendency to run away too. Dash immediately ran about ten feet from me and stopped. I put Dot in a sit-stay and told her to not to move while I cautiously approached Dash. With no collar and no harness, there was little to grab hold of. Dash is not a very obedient dog, but he is very empathetic. I think he knew I was frightened, and became frightened too. When I cautiously reached out and held him tightly to my body, he was shaking like a leaf. I literally begged him to stay still while I tried to get the harness back on. Getting the harness attached can be difficult even at home and it was much harder in an open field. Dash panics at just about anything and I was continually afraid that he was going to bolt and run away. Eventually, I had him secure again and we all headed immediately home.
Through the whole ordeal, the ever-obedient Dot didn't move an inch. I think Dot may have saved the day. The always insecure Dash has become very dependent on Dot and I think he didn't want to leave her behind, with or without a leash. If I was alone with him, it might have been a different story. He probably would have thought it would be great fun to run as far and fast as he could. I know one thing for sure. I'm never going to trust that harness again. This was the highly recommended "inescapable" harness too. I still haven't come up with a good "Plan-B" for tomorrow.
When I got the dogs safely back home again, I ate a bowl of oatmeal and set about dealing with the day's other problems. I got on the phone and tried to resolve a vexing Medicare issue. Then I tried to get my jury duty summons postponed until sometime this Summer. Since both of these things involved dealing with government bureaucrats, it was a very unsatisfying experience. I still don't know whether anything actually got resolved.
Dot panicked and started to swim again during our water therapy session this afternoon. I don't know what causes this, because 80% of the time, she's just fine. My theory is that occasionally, the technicians add too much water to the tank and Dot starts to float. She's got a good set of lungs. I imagine she would float quite easily. At any rate, maybe my theory is correct. When I asked if they could drain three inches of water from the tank, everything was fine again.
I did some work today, but it was all a blur. Dash totally stressed me out. The two dogs provide the only real sense of purpose I have left. I try my best to protect them, and don't know what I would do without them. Luckily, everything ended well this morning. I didn't panic. And neither did Dot or Dash.
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Wow- Glad that ended well. Don't know if you recall that my Chips' full name was Hoover Houdini Chips. There was not a harness, collar, box or fence he couldn't get out of if he put his mind to it. Interesting that you also like model railroading. I simply can't afford it at this point in my life.
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