Lost Dog - May 29 2021

 

Lost Dog

May 29 2021

The prodigal dog returned,

eyes bright

tail wagging

fur soaked to the skin.

With a stick gripped in her mouth

giving a goofy grin,

blissfully unaware

of all the distress she'd caused.

Where an old dog

and homebody

who doesn't wander much

went on her recent great adventure

will remain a mystery

for good.

I'd love to accompany her, someday.

Perhaps engineer my own escape,

blithely vanishing

from all the everyday annoyances

expectations

and plans,

and find my own secret lake;

along with something to chew on

and roll in

and dig,

if just for the sake of digging

to see what's there.

A filthy stick

clenched between my lips

on my triumphant return.

But always sure

to be home for dinner

and a soft warm bed.

We were out canoeing, me paddling and the dogs swimming -- as usual. I looked behind, and Skookum had disappeared. We had just started, so hadn't gone far, and I eventually spotted her across the lake (it's narrow here, so more like a river than a lake) in front of the neighbours heading home. I figured she's an old dog and was tired and had had enough. So Rufus (my younger chocolate Lab) and I went on.

But when we got back, Skookum was nowhere to be found. Nowhere. This isn't at all like her. She doesn't run off. She stays with me and sticks to home.

Then, about an hour later, after recruiting the neighbours and scouring everywhere for her, I went back to the beach for about the 5th time and there she was, dripping wet, wagging her tail, a stick triumphantly clenched in her mouth!

(I see that I've posted 2 dog poems in a row. My apologies to all the cat people and dog haters!)