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10/12/2005: "Close Call"

My hands start to shake just thinking about. One of our greyhounds got out the other day. We're having an annoying ant problem, so I had one of our technicians come over from the office. He went into the back yard and apparently didn't latch the gate all the way. The Girl and one of her friends let the dog out into the back yard and Cleo (the dog) quickly discovered the unlatched gate. Unfortunately, the girls freaked which means the dog freaked. They were screaming and chasing her and, being the most skittish of my dogs, Cleo ran.

Here's the thing. Having your dog loose isn't a good thing anyway, but greyhounds are sort of different. They're sight hounds. For thousands of years it's been bred into them to chase small furry things when they see them. They're fast and focused and unfenced is not good.

I flew out the front door, barefooted nonetheless and yelled at the girls to shut up, calm down and get back inside. Cleo was already across the street and in another yard. I tried coaxing her and every time I'd get within distance to grab her collar she'd dodge away. I knew if a squirrel or a cat happened by, both of which are plentiful in our neighborhood, my chances of catching her were nil and her chances of getting hit by a car were high.

Finally, after stopping several cars that were coming by so they wouldn't hit her, instead of me chasing her, I let her chase me. I called out to her, "Let's run" and I headed for the front door. That sweet, crazy girl came loping up after me.

They guy that left the gate open felt terrible but I told him I was equally at fault for not checking behind him. Even writing about it now makes me feel queasy. And I guess there's really no point to this story other than I'm really glad all the squirrels and cats stayed out of sight. And yes, Cleo got an extra treat that night with her dinner.

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