I experienced that horrid sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach and that nervous, semi-nauseous wave that comes over you when inevitability starts to set in. Sonny was lost and he was not coming back. My mind raced with the what-to-dos; put up signs, call the local papers, send out a search party, stop the world so I could find my dog! I began to imagine my life without him, to wonder if he was in pain or if he would suffer, if someone might take him in and take care of him better than we ever could, if I would ever see him again. The tears threatened to come; the guilt washed over me, the despair began to embrace me. I looked up as the clouds opened up and the sky cried with sympathetic grief. Standing there on the bicycle path, soaked and miserable, wallowing in remorse I looked towards that villainous spot where my Sonny had disappeared. And there he was. My little bundle of furry fat was trotting happily towards me, jumping here and there over taller tufts of grass after his exploratory mission to who knows where had concluded.
I could almost taste the mixture of relief, anger, elation and love. Without any hesitancy or obvious signs of guilt at doing something wrong, he ran up to me in his usual, “I think it’s time for a treat” manner. Hooking the leash to his collar in one faster-than-the-speed-of-light movement, I half-heartedly smacked his bottom and said, “Bad dog!” while hugging and kissing him fiercely (talk about mixed messages!). We continued our walk as the whole ordeal had only taken about ten minutes and we both needed our exercise but at no time was Sonny more than five feet away from me. To be truthful, if I could have, I would have carried him. And even though I know I got carried away - a little bit - I haven’t let him go off-leash since then….....…maybe next week.
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To see pictures of Rat Terriers and find out more about them, please visit Rat Terrier Life Span and for information on keeping your best friend trim, take a look at Dog Weight Problems.
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