My goal was to catch up on old stories from before the wedding, but something happened this weekend that I just had to share first!
This is Dash and our Aunty's dog, Koa. Koa is a nine year old Lab who lives in Davenport (near Santa Cruz). Don't they look happy together? Even though there is such a huge age difference, Dash really brings out the puppy in Koa and they play non-stop... Sometimes too much for the senior dog's old joints to handle.
This weekend we visited Aunty and Koa for a strawberry picking adventure at
Swanton Berry Farm. The dogs had a blast playing near the old airstream trailer store on the property, which is also owned by extended family. The store showcases local products as part of the
Slow Coast movement.
Anyway, I digress. The whole point of the story is after the strawberry picking we dropped the dogs off and headed to the grocery store to get dinner items. Keep in mind we left the dogs in the fenced backyard, just like in this picture below. They look pretty innocent... right?
NOPE. When we got back Dash was romping around the driveway!!! GASP. The backyard gate was wide open. We all panicked. Koa was missing!!! This normally wouldn't be so bad, except that Davenport is right next to the coast and Highway 1. Last time Koa got out he went a mile down the highway to his favorite beach, which he had to cross the highway to get to. YIKES. Long story short, after a few minutes of frantic searching we found Koa at the local park with some neighborhood kids... playing fetch. They said he came to the park himself, ball included. OH MY.
The thing I can't get over is why Dash was still at the house. Why didn't he follow Koa? Why didn't he go any where? I usually have a hard time keeping him focused on supervised walks, and now when he had the chance to roam free, he just waited? Papa thinks it was because our car was still in the driveway (we took Aunty's) and he was also in an unfamiliar place. In any case, we are SO SO SO THANKFUL that he was safe!
End note: It actually ended up being MY fault the dogs were loose! I didn't know or didn't remember there were two locks on the backyard gate. I only hooked one when I left. :(
BONUS: Here's another touching
story about a lost Aussie from
australian-shepherd-lovers.com. The owners, Toni and Byron are excellent writers. I teared up at the end!
