A close call
I was online at home this morning shortly after 9 a.m. when this email titled "gray and white border collie loose" came across my inbox:
Barbara is a neighbor of mine from a couple blocks away, she and her husband, Jim, have worked in dog and cat rescue for several years. At first I thought, Nah, Cowboy & Tess have
been in the backyard all morning as usual (I'd just seen Tess inside the house briefly a few minutes earlier).
But something told me to double check. When I got out to the backyard, I found the side gate standing wide open and no Cowboy or Tess. The latch must have not caught well last night when I closed it from the outside and perhaps the strong winds were enough to blow it open.
Both Barbara and I went driving through the neighborhood separately. Nothing. You know that sinking feeling, like where could they have gone? I called several people in the neighborhood, asking them to just be on the look out. I stopped others on the street and in a local park, asking if they'd see the dogs. No one had.
But after about 30-45 minutes, I came across them about a block away from my house. They appeared to be having a grand time, but thankfully jumped into my car (Cowboy a little reluctantly and after a couple false passes at the open back door; he was having so much fun out there, after all). Barbara later told me she'd found someone who had seen the dogs and indicated that Tess ("the little one") started to come to them when called but held back because Cowboy wouldn't come. She seemingly didn't want to leave his side.
They both have tags with my phone # and are licensed and microchipped. But still, so much can happen to them when they're out like that.
So a special thanks to Barbara for alerting me. And, of course, to God to whom I regularly pray anyway, but did so especially fervently while looking for Cowboy and Tess! Whew.
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About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
Hi Donna,
So glad your adventurers got home...and you did too....long before I gave up the search. I also stopped and asked a lot of folks if they had seen your duo including many dog walkers. They all have your address if they find your duo...so don't be surprised if every lost border collie in San Pedro ends up on your doorstep!
Glad you had "back up" with tags and microchips as I knew that is their insurance policy in finding their way home. I'm glad both our prayers were answered! God does indeed hear our prayer for the lost sheep and in this case, the lost sheepherders. I knew those dogs would be smart and find their way home once they finished herding the neighborhood cats off the streets and front yards.
Barbara
Thanks, Barbara, for going to so much effort to help find them. It made me feel so good when our cars passed in the street a few times, knowing there were 4 pairs of eyes out looking! When I left for work today, they had settled back into the backyard, but I fear they looked a bit bored and let down after I gathered them up and ruined all their fun.
What an awful feeling! Been there, done that. So glad to hear they were OK. Either 1) they're super tired and probably slept all day or 2) they are waiting for you to get home to see what Mom is going to do/say. Thanks of sharing!
Thank you! Yeah, my mom lost a little dog, Chico, when I was in college and we never did find him. It was the weirdest feeling, Chico and my mom's other dog had gotten out of the house and as my mom went after them, people would say "Oh, they just went around that corner." She finally caught up but only found the one, Chico never did turn up (and he had ID tags and was licensed). Always such a mystery and really a heartbreak, we could only hope whoever took him in (assuming that's what happened) gave him a good home. But it always does just sort of haunt you, for at least a year I kept looking everytime I drove through the neighborhood, thinking maybe I'd spot Chico somewhere. Several years ago, I got home to find my gate wide open (gardener?) and figured my dogs were probably long gone. But when I went inside the house, my two dogs at the time, Mercy & Ellie, were konked out on the couch. Either they didn't know the gate was left open or they simply preferred an afternoon nap to some adventure.
Hi Guys,
I did read the story yesterday and just thought to myself *we really need to check the gates and make sure the locks are on* on our walk last night we stopped to talk to one of our neighbors who said his puppy ran off through a door that he thought was not closed properly , never to return. Another neighbot across the alley from us came over about 2 weeks ago, asking if we seen their dog ( a pionter) who ran off, because *somebody did not close the door properly* the dog returned.
This morning we saw 2 big white fluff dogs running on Walker by 16th street....but they were going so fast and we had all three of ours going crazy so we could not find out where they went..........
I have had the suspision that some punks from the highschool go around and open doors and gates in yards that have dogs in them ,for a while now.
our gates have locks plus I think if somebody would try to reach for the door they would be missing a few fingers...but it's probably worth warning people about this.
Agreed. I originally used to put a little lock on the inside of the gate, and I will probably start doing so again. It became complicated because my gardener's schedule was (and still is) so unpredictable, but even leaving a small padlock looped through the hook (and unlocked) on the inside would provide more security. Eventually I need to get this gate replaced. But for now, I have barricaded it from the inside to keep the dogs away from it and on the outside so if it gets unlatched it won't "swing" open. We hope.
I wonder if Cowboy and Tess thought they could organize their own Dog Walk-a-Thon? It's a good thing they didn't take directional notes on how to get to the assisted living facility judging from the photos of how they enjoyed the loving attention they received there.
Try a large bell on the gate?
Kids opening gates for kicks? That's just sick and I worry what that could escalate to. If there is a good suspicion of such stupid behavior, please consider reporting it to local police because it may also be casing out homes to rob later. Letting the dog out, they get rid of the alarm system.