Canine Houdini

I don't even want to write this. The Universe has gone too far this time, toying with my emotions. Even Farmer H is sad.

Lucky is gone!

Everything had been going fairly well since Farmer H rescued Lucky last Tuesday. Despite the four escapes from his lead in the side yard, and his Jack attack (provoked!)... Lucky seemed to be settling in. He didn't bark much. Just lay in the side yard in the grass, a definite improvement over his wire and concrete CELL indoors at the dog pound. 

Farmer H took food and water to Lucky every morning. He had his own food dish and water bowl and house. He looked forward to Farmer H's arrival every afternoon, barking and wagging. Farmer H gave him treats and pats. 

On Monday afternoon, Farmer H sent me a text from his SUS2.5, asking "How's your dog?" I told him "Not barking." That was the norm. I thought nothing of it. But when Farmer H got home at 3:00, he came in the front door (instead of the kitchen as usual), and said, 

"Lucky is gone! I pulled my truck in the front yard. I was gonna clean it out after petting Lucky. But he's GONE! His collar is undone! Still on the lead! I don't know how he coulda done that. It clicks together. It never done that before when he got loose. He just slipped out of it, and it was still fastened. I adjusted it to be tighter. I don't know how it could have come undone!"

It was a blue nylon collar, with those black plastic prongs that click together. Then you squeeze it to undo it. A dog can't to that! Especially not when it's around his neck. UNLESS... maybe Lucky was stretched back, pulling against the lead, and twisted the collar just right to make one of the prongs slip out. Farmer H said maybe he could have pulled hard enough to get it by his mouth and bite it. But there was no sign of chewing.

This almost makes me think somebody let Lucky loose! He and Jack were not friendly enough that Jack could have been chewing on the collar. Anybody wanting to "steal" Lucky would surely have taken the collar as well. Lucky had been here for 7 days. Not really long enough for anybody passing by to notice him. There's only a couple of kids out here now. One teenage boy who rides a 4-wheeler too fast. I doubt that he would come into our yard.

We don't know what time Lucky left. He was here at 6:30 a.m. Around 7:45, I heard Jack out front, barking. Only for about 5 minutes. Lucky might have gotten loose then, or just before Farmer H got home. We don't know. There's been no sign of him now for 24 hours. 

Farmer H put Lucky's picture on the Facebook of our enclave. Nobody had seen him, but our neighbor said she would be looking out for him. Farmer H put it on his regular Facebook. That evening, a guy said he had seen a white dog looking similar to Lucky over by the Sis-Town Elementary School around 3:30. That's past The Pony's house. Farther than where Lucky was originally picked up by animal control. So Farmer H thinks it was a different dog.

I think Farmer H is sadder than I am. He spent more time with Lucky, and they had bonded. I feel so bad that we rescued Lucky. Now he's not even in a cell with food and water.

No good deed goes unpunished, I suppose. I told Farmer H to call the dog pound guy and tell him we'll take Lucky back if he's caught again. And not to cancel the vet appointment November, in case we find another dog to "rescue."