Every year our town has a carnival. It's usually very over priced, but worth it because the kids' faces just light up for three whole days. My own children count down to carnival time. Of course, anywhere that you have large gatherings of children, you'll also have at least one person who decides to get rid of an animal by dumping it where it will have the highest chances of being picked up - around kids.
This year was no different than any other year, except since we went to the carnival, we happened to see the animal that was dropped off. This year, it was a beautiful brindle colored pitt bull puppy, no more than 5 to 6 months old, if that. She was loving, and friendly. I had her in my arms and ready to come home. Just one problem.
We didn't have a leash or a rope, and we used the buses to get out to the carnival. Now with a leash of some sort, I could have walked her back to the car but without one, no way I could have carried her. So Honey and I decided we'd wait until the morning and go back to get her.
I was a witness to other children chasing her and throwing anything they could find at her. A couple of them I knew because they were friends of my own children. And yes, these children were admonished severely. They were setting themselves up to be bitten and what I didn't quite realize at the time, making my job for the next day more difficult.
The next morning, my daughter and I grabbed a couple of leashes and some dog treats. We really didn't think it'd take longer than five minutes to catch this puppy. Give her a few treats, and put the leash on her. Boy, were we ever so wrong!
We found her over by the school. And yes, she did love those treats but she wouldn't actually come to me for them. I'd toss a treat to her and slowly make them come closer and closer to me. Once those treats were in grabbing distance of me though, she wouldn't budge.
We managed to get her caged into an area and figured we'd just wait her out. And several times, we came close to getting her. She even let me pet her a bit. But then, in this comedy of errors, I tried to sit down since I was standing in an ant pile. Apparently, the movement of my big old butt meeting the ground was enough to spook her and she quickly ran! She found an exit we weren't able to block, and was gone!
So, after three hours of trying to catch her, I decided it was time to come get Honey. I just knew that together, we'd be able to get her! We got in the car and came to get Honey. We watched as this pretty puppy jogged down the street. I sighed, and put the pedal to the metal! Okay, not that dramatic, but I did rush home to get my wonderful husband.
Now when we left, Honey was still sound asleep in his bed. He didn't even hear me grabbing the keys from his jeans. When we were nearly home, I realized I had forgotten the phone. I wasn't quite expecting him to be up yet anyway. I came in to one worried and bewildered looking half asleep man. I told him "I need your help with this!" As I gave Pie instructions of what else to grab and bring, he went to go get dressed.
Together, we spent another three hours trying to get this puppy. We had gotten her trapped in an area again, which was good. At one point, the ground seemed to fall out from beneath me as the dog ran past, and I did a perfect dive. If there was water there, I'd have gotten a perfect score for that dive! My arms ached but not nearly as badly as my back did. I waited until that wonderful husband of mine had gone after the dog and left my sight before I let out the small inner scream of pain. I lay there for a few minutes trying to regain composure, as well as the feeling in my lower extremeties.
At another point, she had fallen asleep and I had gotten over to her quietly. I had the leash around her neck! YES! We had the puppy! She panicked and got up and ran. Before the leash had been tightened, she ducked her head right out of it while running.
My husband decided to try the lasso trick with some rope he had in the car. He got her snout. It wasn't very effective.
Then, the dog ran out of a hole in the fence that we hadn't even seen until we saw her going through it. And off she was again. Another three hours just wasted!
By this time, I am more determined to catch her, more determined to out-stubborn this puppy than I was when I even started trying to catch her. We decided to come home, get something to eat, work a bit, and take a break.
That break lasted for about an hour and a half. I was having visions of her getting hit by vehicles, winding up in dog fighting rings or being put down by animal control. This time, I told my husband he didn't have to come with us but he confided that he'd be too worried about me if he didn't. It turned out to be a good thing he came with us.
This time, as soon as she saw that we saw her, she took off running. We waited quietly for her to return but she wasn't coming back so easily this time. So, I decided to go and check down by the creek. Honey refused to bring the car, so it was quite a walk but there she was! This time, I got just inches away from her. She looked up and saw me, so I spoke to her very quietly in a whisper. She ran and I lunged. Guess who won?
Yeah. Her. We found her a few more times, but she was more alert and aware and just kept running. At one point, I noticed my wedding ring was incredibly tight and uncomfortable. My feet felt as though they were about to break through my shoes. I looked at my hand and noticed that I had swollen up five times my regular size. I looked like an over stuffed sausage!
Just one more trip around the park though. Just one. That one trip nearly did me in. A security guard gave me some water, and I stood in front of their fan for a bit before starting back. I passed out my phone number to every person I saw and offered a small reward for any person that managed to catch her for me. A small reward to be paid on my payday. One that in reality, I can't really afford and yet, this puppy has become my Moby Dick.
Honey kept asking me why this one was so important to me and honestly, I can't say why. I do not know why I was so obsessed with this one puppy yesterday. Even now, if I still had a car, I'd be out there trying to befriend her and bring her home. Yes, it is irrational and I recognize that. Maybe it's the Captain Ahab coming out in me. I don't know.
I was so over heated last night that I wouldn't have been able to drive. In fact, it took hours for me to cool down and my face to not be purple any longer. The swelling didn't recede until it was nearly bedtime. I downed a ton of Gatorade and water. It was much later that I discovered it was 110 degrees outside when we were trying to catch a puppy. The heat index was 120 degrees. And I was running around with very little shade!
The worst part is, if there was the slightest chance that we'd be able to get her, I'd probably do it all over again.
We'll go out there tonight and replace the food and water we left for her yesterday. If she's there, we'll say hi and see if she'll come to us. Otherwise, I'll have to come home and wait to see if the phone rings.
So that's it. That's the story on how I became Captain Ahab for a day. Don't worry. I'm over it now. But if she does wind up with us, her name will be Moby.
And Honey, if you read this, thank you for being the wonderful man that you are. I recognize how crazy the situation must have seemed to you. Thank you for allowing me to get it out of my system. (I do still want her though!)
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