Today I aged 20 years....

[bubba]

I let the dogs out in the fenced back yard before taking Yoda in to have his stitches removed. When I called them in a short time later, there sat Cooper on the back porch, and no Yoda.

I called, I whistled, I yelled....still no Yoda. I scooted Cooper into the house and the search was on. There is a busy street one block east, so I head there first. No luck. Up and down the alleys I went, checking up the hill where there is a busy street about four blocks west. Still no Yoda. I did find one dead raccoon that looked like him through my tears, but once I got out and looked, I had never been so happy to see a dead raccoon in my life!

I made it up to the busy street and saw a man working in front of a duplex. He had seen him about 10 minutes prior and pointed down the street. Off I went. I pulled up in front of a barber shop where a man pointed me around the corner. Another man there said go around the next corner, and there I found a woman working in her yard. She had just seen him....the trail was getting warmer! I went down the street and going thru an intersection I saw something out of the corner of my eye a block down....it was YODA!!!! I flew out of the car and hugged him nearly to death, I'm sure.

He seems to have had quite an adventure, all he wants to do now is nap. In total, if I were to drive from my house to where I found him, it was six blocks away. Lord only knows what route he took to get there......I'm sure he'll be tuckered out till morning.

Doing the happy dance....

pat.

[kayharley]

OMG......that story is every dog owners nightmare!! I'm so glad you found your little escape artist and he's OK. Do you know how he got out?

I have a fenced in yard too and there are times when Madison will be camoflaged in our stone wall and I'll call and call her only to have the panic/anxiety begin when she doesn't come.

Do they ever realize how much stress they put us through??

[bubba]

I have no clue how he got out. He got out once before, but only went into the neighbors yard. He was quite a bit smaller then, and we did something to the fence so that wouldn't happen again. This weekend when my husband is home, one of us will go outside the fence and try to get him to come thru it to see just what he did. My guess is he climbed the woodpile and jumped, but my husband insists he would not jump down six feet.....I don't know if he would or not. My guess is a kid took him out of the yard, but I have no way of knowing that either.

I just got back from driving the route and it was over a mile. I'm sure he went further because of the roving around he must have done!

Just yesterday, I was thinking....my next post is my 100th post, I'll have to think up something good for it. This was not good, but I had to tell somebody!

[Guest posting as: Stacey]

"My guess is he climbed the woodpile and jumped, but my husband insists he would not jump down six feet....."

I bet you are right. If the woodpile is against a fence he could have shimmied down, or jumped. I know one of my Cairns would not hesitate for a moment to jump down six feet. Jumping up six feet without help, not possible. Down, no problem.

Stacey

[toomanypaws]

I'm doing the happy dance for you too! I am so glad you found Yoda. I'd be a nervous wreck if one of my "girls" got loose. Even fenced in, I don't leave them outside alone. I love the fact that my 8 yr old dd loves running them in the yard and will stay outback w/ them for a couple hrs. We're on a small lake and have had armadillo dig under our fence in the past so I was constantly walking the fence line to make sure there weren't any holes. My dh finally hauled in small rock and packed it along the inside and outside of the fence and this has seemed to stopp the digging.

[CarCarDawn]

Hi! So glad your story ended on a happy note!!! Riley is confined to our fenced-in pool area and we have had to go around the inside of the fence with chicken wire because he was pulling on the fence and finding ways to escape!! He is a very smart "Houdini"!!!! I never leave him out there alone!!! And - - - yes - - - a Cairn might jump down 6 feet - - - I know Riley would if there was a chance for a little bit of freedom!!!

[wheezie23]

Bubba, give yourself a big hug. I know how scary that was for you (and fun for Yoda!) I'm so glad it ended happily.

Thela

[Eliz222]

Been there, done that......very scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so glad that you found Yoda in time...they sure keep us on our toes, don't they??

[Guest Guest]

Like Shoe, been there, done that with Duffy. It takes years off your life and the little rascals think they have had a wonderful adventure. So glad that you found Yoda safe and sound!

MikeC

[Scully'sMom]

WAY too familiar a story. Two months ago Scully jumped out of my car on a four lane highway and took off - uphill - ran after I had an emergency appendectomy. I was hysterical. I left my car door open, my pocketbook on the front seat and I didn't give a darn, I wanted my Scully back.

I am SO happy that Yoda is okay, but I know that you are probably still shaking in your shoes. It took me awhile to get over it.

As far as jumping, on one of Scully's escapes, she jumped off a six foot high retaining wall onto concrete and kept on running.

They are definitely little buggers!

[bubba]

Well...we solved the mystery! My husband found the spot Yoda squeezed out of and it appears he had been doing it for some time as the wood had quite a shine to it. I can't imagine how they find these spots, but I guess a pup just isn't to be trusted! I don't think he will be going on another big adventure soon...he was so happy to be home that he curled up and slept for almost two hours. Since that day he sticks to me like glue....it's hard to imagine it scared him worse than me, but it seems to have.

Thanks for your kind words,

pat.