Big drama at my place

We had quite the near tragedy at Casa de 'burbs yesterday.  I had made a plan to meet a friend at the park after I picked Zoe up from school.

I'd told the kids we'd stop at Sonic for a slush before we went to the park and I wanted to get on the road so I could spend time chatting with my friend as I was needing some adult interaction.

Zoe's pants were too big, making her uncomfortable all day and she wanted to change them before we went to play. I needed to get some shoes for Will as well so I parked in the driveway and ran inside to get his sneakers while Zoe put on play clothes.  Since Will was in the car I turned the button on the back of the doorknob and told Zoe to shut the door on her way out.

She ran out to the car and we were off!  We had a great time at the park, the kids found some new friends to run around with, my friend and I had a good conversation and I ate the last of Will's snack so he yelled at me.

I got cold and took the kids home to start dinner.  When we pulled up to the house, our front door was open and Peavey, our black lab/something mutt was in the front yard.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.  The front door hadn't gotten closed all the way and as the day was breezy, the door opened.

I got Peavey into the house and yelled for Gibson, our dalmatian/something mutt.  He didn't come running.  I had Zoe open up the back door and yell for him, in case he'd gotten left in the yard by mistake.  He didn't come running.

Gibson was gone.  And nowhere in sight.  Zoe went into hysterics and because Zoe was crying Will starting crying, both of them yelling "Gibson!  Gibson!  I want Gibson!"  Zoe was also wailing, saying she was sorry, she should have been more careful.  I soothed her, saying it was just an accident, not anybody's fault.

I called him and whistled for a couple minutes with no doggie response.  I bundled the kids back in the car, Zoe insisting we bring Peavey along to make sure he didn't run away again.

I took them around the neighborhood, both of them yelling "Gibson! Gibson!  Gibson!" out the windows, which embarrassed me for some reason, isn't that weird?

My big fear, was that he'd gotten into the very busy street behind our house and been hit\ and that I'd find the dog along the side of the road for the kids to see first.  What a great childhood memory!

When we didn't spot him in the immediate area, I said we were going to go home and check my phone to see if any of the neighbors found him. 

And I had a message!  Someone had found our dog and called the vet listed on his rabies tag.  Our vet identified our doggie via his rabies tag number and got in touch to tell me who had Gibson.

I called the nice couple and, after thanking them profusely, we drove over to pick him up.  We had to drive because he was two miles away.  That's right, two miles.  I don't know if they were driving and got him into the car to take him home or if he appeared in their yard. 

When I got to their house, they apologized because they hadn't been able to capture Peavey.  I said he was at home when we got there.  So, Peavey had the sense to come home!  Well, he's not as dumb as I've been assuming. 

I'm sure that when I ask Zoe to close the door, she'll slam it hard and then make sure it's closed.  Oh, great, she'll be on the road to being obsessive-compulsive. 

But, it ended well and our dummie dog is back in our home!  Oh, the emotional investment we make in our pets. 

Amanda's beauty tip of the day:  If you are looking pale, either stand on your head or lay on your bed with your head hanging over the edge to increase blood flow, it will revive the color to your skin.