We had a super-windy day today.
Windy and cold, with intermittent rain and a few snow flurries. Winter is here!
I got home this evening after work, an oil change, and a grocery-buying expedition to Trader Joe's (I hadn't been there in weeks!), and after Jon helped me bring in groceries he realized that Jake was no longer in the back yard.
We have a tall privacy fence, and when it gets windy like it did today, the gate turns into a big sail and blows open. Jake, being a smart dog, always takes advantage of the opportunity to go out and explore his neighborhood.
He'd been outside 30-45 minutes on his own before we realized he was gone. Jon took off on foot to look for him while I unloaded the perishables and ate a quick dinner. Otto was playing happily when Jon called and said "I found him, can you drive over and help me catch him?"
I told Otto that we had to go find Jake, and Otto got excited. "Jake, where'd you go? Run away, run away!" he said, and we went to get in the car. I'd just turned the key in the ignition when Jon called back.
"I called him and he walked right up to me. We can walk home, we're ok."
But Otto was in the back seat saying "Where's Jake?" so we headed off on our rescue mission.
Jake was less than 2 blocks away. Jon found him sniffing trees, enjoying the night air, just moseying along. In his youth he would've been g-o-n-e, but now that he's a wise senior he appreciates things like central heat and air. He got out one summer in Janesville and I lured him off the street into my car with the offer of cold A/C. Tonight I think he was glad to come home to his sofa and Beggin' Strips and the fireplace.
Which, really, is the only sensible thing to do when it's windy and rainy and 30 degrees and dark out.
