I got up to walk both Gretchen and Fritz along the near 5-mile loop walk in the 'hood. Gretchen is showing confidence in the route and Fritz didn't pull too much. The walk was more pleasant than expected and we all got a good work-put. We were done by 7:07am, making this a 1:45-hour walk I couldn't normally do on school days unless I got up two hours before my usual departure time.
Fritz and Gretchen were tired after the walk. Both did fine until that last mile, when it began to warm up. Morning clouds gave way to sunny skies. Even I felt exhausted, and lay around on the bed going over my news websites when Stan's Fencing called at 9:20am to let me know they were coming to put in the two main posts for my front gate. They said they would be over in 20 minutes. That just barely gave me time to get Fritz back in the house and the other two dogs leashed up for the duration of the crew's presence.
Installing the front gate is a two-day process. The first day is for drilling the post holes and pouring the concrete. This concrete must set before they come back with the gate, in about a week. I'm glad they were able to get Part 1 done while I was home! They were gone within 30 minutes.
The crew was fast and friendly, but dented two of the posts on the field fence I have up front. I didn't think much of that until later.
I enjoyed having Fritz in the front for the two days. He was a gentle dog with me, although he was strong enough to squeeze around one of the side posts to get out. He was gentle with Gretchen and Sweetie and neither seemed to mind him.
So, with Fritz back in the house, I let Sahne out next. She was clearly stumped by the new arrangement with the RV as close to the house as possible and blocking the through-way to the street. And Gretchen was clearly upset that she was in the front yard which has become her yard. They sniffed each other carefully and I watched both with trepidation.
I took Sahne on a solo loop around the 'hood. She is a hyper dog that needs a good work-out every day and she's not getting enough exercise. I wanted to give her that today.
It looked like some showers were coming and I wanted her to get some exercise before the rain. It wasn't much of a storm, luckily. Gretchen napped in the RV while I walked Sahne. The walk with Sahne was over in 30 minutes, but it was a hot and muggy walk. I brought her inside the RV afterwards to rest.
That was a mistake. Gretchen was not happy with that arrangement and got defensive. She lunged at Sahne, who fought back, and in seconds I had two dogs biting at each other within inches of me. I was having none of that!
It was a hot afternoon. By now I was getting drained by the heat and the tension in the RV and decided to take the girls down to the river to run off some energy. But Gretchen did not want to hop into the truck with Sahne. Since Gretchen already got a good workout earlier, I left her in the front yard and drove down to the Hereford bridge with Sahne and Sweetie.
It was 3pm now and getting hotter. The dogs didn't mind, but I minded the muddy trails. This part of the river must have gotten hit hard with the last rain. The mud was very soft near the bank and pools of water soaked the low areas. The grassland near the river has become a wetland. This was not conducive to walking safely. After letting the dogs swim in the muddy water for a bit, we drove off into town for a late lunch at Culvers. Each dog got a pup cup.
The entire trip to the river and into town took just over two hours. I was back home by 5:20pm and noticed that Gretchen was not in the front yard. The bottom portion of the fence was bent upward; she had squeezed underneath the bottom wire to get out.
What provoked her to get out? Was she upset that I drove off with the other dogs but left her behind? Did she need time to decompress? Whatever the reason, I needed to advertise her being lost on Facebook so people could watch out for her while it was still light out. I had to act fast.
Luckily I had a nice photo of Gretchen standing next to Fritz that I took on today's walk. I used that in my LOST DOG post. The difference in body structure between the two dogs is very obvious in the photo. Within a few minutes of posting my message, it received shares on Facebook to all the lost/found pet sites.
Two hours later I received my first phone call saying she was spotted off Ramsey Canyon Road, west of SR92. All the way up there? On the other side of the highway? That's almost five miles away! I met the woman, Ilene, and she showed me the yard she ran into. I yelled out her name several times but did not venture onto private property.
Homes off Ramsey Canyon Road west of SR92 are spacious and do not have fencing. This could give Gretchen an advantage by getting away faster. The heavy brush also makes for good concealment.
An hour later I got another phone call saying she was near Choctaw and Yuma Drive, a mile north of the first call. Why was Gretchen moving farther from home? I drove around calling her name, but stopped at 9:40pm as now I was getting tired. I would take the day off tomorrow to resume looking for her.
Sahne slept with me in bed, stretched out to her delight. I kept staring at Gretchen's photograph, in utter disbelief that she was gone.
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