Bailed Out

Bailed Out

Summer has swallowed me up.

With the kids home, it’s lots and lots of getting snacks and running to and fro keeping them busy. Any free time I have, I’m reading, watching a movie or sleeping.

Exhausting.

But in a kind of a good way (most days). We’ve gotten into a good rhythm where we do something in the morning or early afternoon. Then the blue eyed devils know I have to lie down or nap so they get to watch a movie. I crash as soon as my face hits the pillow and usually wake up drooling about 4. Then it’s time for act 2. Around 4, they go stir crazy so we usually head to the pool or to do SOMETHING active before dinner.

I can honestly say I’ve been enjoying this summer, which is a pleasant surprise. Trying to look for a little joy in every day helps and I tend to find it.

Jumping to another topic, not so joyful. No segway. My apologies.

My children lost my dog.

Two days ago, one of the kids didn’t close the door all the way when we went to the library. Atticus got out and ambled away. He doesn’t RUN away, you see, he just sort of wanders following his nose.

In the chaos of the day, I didn’t figure it out until it was time for him to eat at 5pm. Realizing he was gone, I grabbed Peter and we did the thing we usually do: scour the neighborhood, whistling and calling him. Usually, we’ll see him sniffing around someone’s yard, only to hear my voice and look up at me like  “Hey! I was just thinking about you!”

But this time, we didn’t find him.

I was crying. The kids knew I was upset. And they knew it was their fault and I meant business. They were super quiet. Hadley kept apologizing. I had stopped crying and was just silent, staring out the window, brokenhearted.

Those who know me, know how much I love this dog. Like I gave birth to him. He is never more then a few feet away from me and just looking at him makes my heart soar.

I made 25 signs and we drove around hanging them up. Taping them to the poles became increasingly more difficult as my energy was depleted and devastation consumed me.

 

This was the picture on the sign. (He’s randomly wearing Mardi Gras beads in this picture) I had to keep looking at his face every time I posted a sign. We got home and Peter went out and posted 10 more.

At about 8pm, a woman called and said that she saw her neighbor with a chocolate lab on her front porch and animal control was there taking him. The woman who called lives about 3 blocks from us. Why didn’t she just call us, you ask? Oh, because HE DIDN’T HAVE HIS COLLAR ON. The jingling of the tags makes me crazy so I take it off. Bad mama.

Atticus had to spend the night in the slammer. I have his mug shot to prove it.

I didn’t sleep well and was up with the sun waiting for this place to open. When we got there and posted his $55 bail, they brought out my baby.

He was so excited to see me that he busted past Peter and Hadley and jumped into my arms. Total mama’s boy. I could tell he was super stressed out and he smelled like pee and dirty dog.  I just kept saying “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!”

We took him straight to the Wag N’ Wash and got him the deluxe spa treatment PLUS a new collar with a special thing that keeps the tags quiet.

I’m not kidding when I say he has been sleeping for two days. And really hasn’t left my side.

Talk about traumatic. I know most people don’t get it and think “it’s a dog. so what?”

Well, suck it. He’s my first born and has comforted me through so much. Dare I say I love him as much as my children? Perhaps. He is everything that is good in the world wrapped in a chocolate brown coat and big brown eyes.

 

Happy Canada Day to all of the Canadians!