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Big drama here at the homestead last night. Our pug, Maddy, whose eyesight has been deteriorating rapidly, ran off into the night.

And it was all my fault.

What kind of an idiot would let a nearly blind dog out without a leash on?

Apparently, an idiot like me.

In my (weak) defense, Maddy is more potato than she is dog. Her motto is "Why walk when you can eat?" and I normally have to drag her up and down the block for her daily vet-ordered constitutionals (she's put on so much weight recently that she resembles a furry bowling ball on legs). Even in the days when she had perfect vision, she never ventured far away. Our routine is that several times a day we toddle outside, and I wait while she piddles, and then we toddle back in.

Up until last night, that is, when Maddy suddenly dropped her snout to the grass, and bolted off in the general direction of our next-door neighbor's house. I dashed inside for my sneakers and a flashlight, and by the time I got back out, she'd vanished.

We sent out a search party, who combed the neighborhood for hours. But there was no pug to be found. We went to bed broken-hearted, convinced that she'd become a tasty morsel for one of the local alligators or bobcats that live in the back wood. This morning I looked for her some more, and when that proved fruitless, I papered the neighborhood with flyers, but it was without much hope. I genuinely thought she was gone forever, and I spent most of the morning in tears.

Right around lunchtime, the phone rang. The tennis pro had found Maddy waiting patiently by the door of the clubhouse when he got into work this morning and called me after he saw one of my flyers. I have no idea how she got all the way over there -- it must be at least a mile away, and this is the dog who has perfected the art of loafing -- but other than being a little dehydrated, she's safe and sound.

We had a joyful reunion, involving much slobber and wet kisses, which Maddy tolerated patiently. And now the little wanderer is sacked out at my feet, snoring softly.

Posted 22 November 2004 at 02:39 PM