The runaway

Last week my friend Mandy came over from Perth for the Dolly Parton concert (woo hoo), and stayed two nights, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday morning I went to work leaving Dolly Dog at home with Mandy. Dolly had been a bit wary of Mandy, but seemed resigned to her presence. Mandy popped out to grab a coffee before heading to the airport for her return flight, and when she returned and opened the front door, Dolly pushed her way out, saw I wasn't there, jumped straight over the front fence (which she's never tried before) and took off.

I was in a meeting, and when I came out of it and turned my phone on, I had six missed call from Mandy. I listened to the first message and my blood ran cold. "I'm just running down the road after Dolly, she's escaped, please call me as soon as you can".

Jumping in the car and heading straight for home, I called Mandy. Dolly had been on the run for 45 minutes, crossing roads, being chased by not only Mandy but also taxi drivers and builders, and had finally been cornered in a neighbour's front yard. I still felt like throwing up, as I took shortcuts through carparks in my hurry to get home. I was so distraught that I forgot that Mandy's flight was due to take off in less than an hour.

When I screeched to a stop outside the neighbour's house, Mandy was standing in the garden.

"Where is she? Is she behind that gate?"

"No, she's here, under this bush".

Mandy and the neighbour had tried to get Dolly out from under the bush, using a broom and a hose, to no avail. Poor Dolly Dog came out as soon as she heard my voice, and looked up at me with sad, sheepish eyes. She was all wet from the hose, and looked at me as if to say "Oh Mummy, where have you been!?"

Mandy missed her flight, so had to take a later one, and after calming both her and Dolly down (wine for Mandy, Pet Calm Spray and cuddles for Dolly) I drove her to the airport before going back to work.

I'm pretty sure I lost 10 years of my life with the worry and panic, but Dolly seemed to recover well from her ordeal. We were both very tired after all that adrenalin though!

So, I've made Dolly promise never to run away from home again, and now we are getting ready for Christmas. Dolly has been invited to more parties than I have.

As all proper dogs know, reindeer antlers are for chewing, not for wearing, so the photos of Dolly in antlers were all too sad to publish!

Merry Christmas!