The day he left me.

I’ve probably talked about him a lot…the one guy in my life. The cute, 50 lb, fat ass, black and white dog named Smokey Joe. Sunday morning, he slipped into the bushes under the guise of just using the bathroom, and decided to go exploring as well. OK I thought no big deal, because I figured he’d be back, he always returns within half an hour. But then 2 hours passed by, and I was worried. I drove around town and talked to neighbors, who hadn’t seen him. He didn’t have his collar on, so I figured someone picked him up, thinking he was a stray. I started making “lost dog” fliers and even filed a police report. I was actually surprised that the police took a lost dog report… don’t you have to wait at least 24 hours before you can report a missing person? Anyway I called a couple people to let them know he was missing. It didn’t help that after I told my parents, they started calling me every 3 hours to see if I found him. Then my mom had to tell me stories about the time her dog got hit by a car...twice. Also a dog down the street went missing 2 weeks ago and was ended up as road kill on the highway nearby. But I was able to stay calm, because I felt the same feeling that I always felt with my ex, when he didn't meet me like he was supposed to...that he was fine, but he just wasn’t letting me know that. And he was always healthy and fine. Yet this situation was freaky. That night, I could listen to break-up songs and actually relate it to my dog. Fortunately for my sanity, I found him the next night. Luckily, I live in a small village with only two vets, two grocery stores, one police, and almost everyone knows each other. Plus the neighborhood is upper middle class, so the kids have cel phones and can call my long distance cel number. So someone, who saw a flier at a vet, knew that her friend had a stray dog at her home. I then received a phone call from a girl, who told me Smokey was looking for a new home at her place. Unfortunately for him, her family already had a dog. But they fed him and, like any stray cat, he probably felt that this place was as good as any to hang out. Anyway he doesn’t seem traumatized and is back home. He still gets spoiled here, but no more off-leash bathroom trips for him.