The D-O-G

Had a scare with the dog yesterday. What started out as a nice longish walk became a bush-wacking melodrama after Saba disappeared.

He likes to lope off the path away from us, and he can cover surprising distances when he runs, but he's never gone for long. He always comes rushing back. This time he didn't. We spent several hours running up and down the path, and cutting off from it to crash through the trees, over stone walls. We were well up away from any roads, but we also got in the car and drove up and down the nearest road. We'd just returned to the parking area, with a thermos of tea, sandwiches and a load of rain gear. Plan was to go up again, dive off the track and crash through the nearest fields that had sheep in them, and then to look up and down the fence, fearing that we'd find Saba tangled up in barbed wire.

It was starting to get dark. A very bad time for us all.

And then Saba appeared behind the car. Just sort of popped up, looking unfazed, and a little confused as to why everyone started crying. We've no idea what he was up to, whether or not it was just circumstance (like getting on the wrong side of a stone wall and not knowing how to get back to us). Or whether it's a sign he's going to have the wandering inclination.

Either way, it was a terrible few hours. And then, suddenly, it was over. I guess that makes us lucky. And grateful.