Poppy's First Year

Poppy, my canine companion of one year, is the cutest pup you will ever see.

He is a rescue dog and came to me with many issues. He is definitely a watch dog, demonstrated by how he barks at the slightest outdoor noise. He is especially alert to other dogs and will lose all control barking at them, even if they are a block away. With children and most people, he is very excited to aquatint himself. When any of my family come to visit, he is ecstatic and cries when they leave. He is a good family pet.

Except when he has the opportunity to escape, like he did just this week. I was removing his leash and didn’t have the door closed tight. He poked his nose through the crack in the door and off he went. I never trust him off leash because, being a terrier, he follows his nose without remorse and will not come when called. His sense of smell is remarkable. He would be a good dog for the bomb or drug squad…truly.

This particular afternoon a winter cold front had moved through with fifty mile an hour gusts and biting cold. I followed him out the door in time to see him disappear past my neighbor’s yard. After that I had no idea where he went. So, I decided not to try to follow. If the weather had been better, I might have trudged through some other back yards. But as it was, I wasn’t going to take a chance…he was on his own.

I did what I could. I put out a family text asking that they keep an eye open in case Poppy would pay one of them a visit. Day care is a couple of blocks from my house and my daughter Teresa used to work there. She knows many of the employees, so she gave them a call.

Sure enough, Poppy was there in the office and my granddaughter recognized him right away. To him this was a joyous event, he could hardly contain himself with such glee.

Teresa called me. ‘Ungleefully’, I grabbed the leash and took off for day care to retrieve my dog, who by now, was exhausted and cold and ever so happy to have been found.

This reminds me of the time when I was in the third grade in Montrose Colorado. My blonde cocker spaniel, Mickey, followed me to school, climbed the fire escape to the second floor and came in my class room window. The teacher wasn’t too happy with me and I was instructed to tie him to a tree in the front yard of the school until my mother could come and pick him up.

When you think about it, it is pretty remarkable how a dog’s nose works. Mickey found me and Poppy found my granddaughter, even though neither of us was lost, but we could have been. Betty

“Happiness is a warm puppy.”…Charles Schulz