Funny you should mention that because that’s where he is again right now. He got away from me again.
When I got home he was in his crate, covered in his own feces, so (since my wife said he was OK to go out with the other dog now) I stupidly put him outside while I got the hose and soap ready to clean him up, and then he wouldn’t follow me back up the hill and now he’s meandering in the creekbed again!
I’ve got a friend coming to help though, so he’ll be OK. Just got to get him out of there, cleaned up and back in the house.
And ( I swear I am not trying to extend this thread!) Riley is gone. Not dead, but gone.
After he got into the woods and I made several attempts to carry, cajole, lure with ham and otherwise get him to follow me up the bank of the creek back into our backyard (he would just lay there and look at me), I finally dashed inside and called an employee of mine to help me basically drag him out of the creekbed if we had to.
I could see him from my deck, laying there. Ian arrived about fifteen minutes later, and when we went down to get him, he was gone. This is the same dog that a half hour before couldn’t be bothered to get up. He was having so much difficulty maneuvering himself inside the dry creekbed with all the fallen trees, big rocks and such, that I couldn’t believe it.
Ian and I just got done scouring the woods for about a mile in either direction, drove around an adjacent street, talked to neighbors…nothing.
So after all this, he’s now on the run. I can’t believe it. I just…can’t.
And it’s all my fault because I let him outside for a moment with my other dog so I could drag his feces-entrenched crate and mattress onto the deck to hose it off, and get a towel and some soap to clean Riley up.
I am crying because I am remembering when I was a kid crying over Snoopy and that song…“Snooooopy…Snooopy…where or where did you roam <come home come home>?”
Christ. This saga has gone on long enough!
I guess I am going to drive around and look for him again, and start making up some fliers to post around the neighborhood.
What I am most afraid of is that because he is a Boxer (square head and jaw, ie, menacing-looking) that people that otherwise might try to help him will avoid him when they see him.
“Help! My name is Riley, have you seen me? I am a gentle dog, and am lost, confused and in need of medication!”
Fuck. I can’t see how this could have gotten any worse, and after such progress was made!
This is like a movie or something. It doesn’t even seem real anymore.
This is a joke. I went driving around looking for him again, talking to neighbors, have notified animal control, my local police (we have our own deputies in my subdivision), etc.
I don’t want him spending the night lost in the woods by himself in his condition.
I don’t have much hope that he will find his own way home, either, given his condition.
A thought: Are there any hidey-places up close to the house? You mentioned how he was having trouble backing out of corners. Have the neighbors check around their places too: garages, bushes, etc.
I’ve been sitting here thinking “come home” thoughts for Riley, and thinking of the time we had just brought a new pup home. We had her outside and got distracted for only a moment, and she disappeared on us. I was probably as frantic as FoieGras is right now. She was tiny, she didn’t even have a collar on yet, and she didn’t even have a NAME!! There I was running around the yard, yelling, “Puppy, puppy!” all crying and worried. Eventually we found her where she’d crawled under the foundation of an old shack next to the house.
We had her for more than 14 years; she grew up to be our arthritic old Scout.
Then there was Buster the beagle, who got away on us after one day. He was afraid of leashes, so we had him loose, got distracted, and he decided to follow his nose . . . He had a collar but no tags, and he was new so no one would recognize him as ours. we made up flyers, went around posting them, and came home to a message on the machine that he’d been found.
So I’m still sending my most positive thoughts for a similar safe return for Riley . . .
Thanks guys. I mean, this is unbelievable, isn’t it? I can’t believe it. I just went looking around in my back woods with a flashlight again as it’s after 9:00 and getting dark. I hope someone kind finds him and takes him in.
Put some food out for him, and a blanket if it’s not supposed to rain. Maybe his crate, if he likes it in there – it would be something familiar. Make sure there’s someplace for him to get under if it’s supposed to rain.
I think I’d be sleeping in a chair out on the deck/porch, with one ear and one eye on alert.
Come home, Riley! Or find some nice person who’ll take care of you and look for your poor owner. He misses you!
Heh, I was thinking the same thing! Or that he tuckered himself out and is snoozing away under some bush. I’m glad it’s summertime, too. That’s a point in his favor.
I wonder, was he a wanderer before? Perhaps his previous habits might provide a clue.
Never. He was terrified of the border of the invisible fence, so much so that he was unwalkable. Which is one of the reasons why I think that he’s still not all there. This is twice now that he’s allowed himself the luxury of being electrocuted, and in his state, didn’t give a shit.
I am worried about him spending the night in the woods. I wonder if he’s scared, or feels abandoned, or if he even feels…anything at all.
This seems like it is never going to end.
I don’t want some boys playing in the woods to discover his body a week from now.
He may well just be in a state of “doh-de-doh-de-doh,” just ambling about and enjoying the freedom, sniffing new things, etc. Remember, he’s been cooped up for a while. If I may bore you with one more dog story . . . Our springer Emily was awesome for many reasons, but mostly because we could just let her out, and she’d do her business and bark when she was done. (Our current dogs won’t go 10 feet unless we’re with them, which I guess is a good thing, but on a cold or rainy day I’d love to be able to just shoo them out while I stay inside in my jammies. But I digress . . .) Anyway, one winter night, we let her out . . . and both fell asleep on the couch. We woke up with a start around 3 am and remembered that she was still outside! And she was 11+ years old and in iffy health. We ran outside and there she was just curled up inside a little alcove where we kept garbage cans. She could have barked her fool head off, but we figure she gave her usual few woofs and then when no one came to let her in, she implemented Plan B. We felt soooo bad!
Remember, you’ve got a tough guy at heart. Try to keep up the good thoughts. He may well show up on the doorstep tonight or tomorrow morning, dumb as a post and happy as a clam . . .
No sign of him. I am tired. So tired. I can’t search for him anymore. What a bummer this has turned out to be. It was to be a celebratory day, now it’s one of sadness and worry…again.
FUCK!
Thanks for your support guys. I suppose if he dies out there, I’d rather he expended himself running around in the wild smelling things than getting a needle.
Doesn’t change the fact that it sucks, though.
But I do appreciate everyone’s support through this. It’s been equal parts encouraging and learning experience.
My son’s parakeet Mr Fantastic flew away not long ago, too. Maybe Riley is hanging out with him.
