Wolf Moon rise off Carr Canyon Road

I have no hike scheduled for today's full moon hike.  The weather forecast is calling for overcast skies.  The moon is set to rise at 5:19pm.

I'm glad I did not schedule a hike as I don't come home from the dog park with Fritz until after 4pm  I don't want to rush, so when the time nears for the moon to rise, I take Gretchen, Sweetie and Fritz up Carr Canyon Road to walk the Clark Springs trail.  The road is gated shut just past this trail head.

It's in the upper 40s but the dogs don't care.  They burst out of the truck and take off running, leashes still dragging.  For the first minute, all three dogs are following me.

But then Gretchen sees something that gets her prey drive going.  She runs up the slope and Fritz follows.  Sweetie continues to follow me.  I don't think much of this behavior because Fritz will tell Gretchen to return to me.

But he doesn't.  Neither dog is behind me.  Sweetie and I continue on our short 0.7-mile walk to the ridgeline.  Clouds to the east hide the initial moon rise, but a sliver of light shines through indicating the moon.  I stay long enough on the trail to photograph the moon, then turn around to get back to the truck.

Neither Fritz nor Gretchen are waiting for us by the truck.  Now I'm pissed.  Where did they head out to?

I wait in the truck with Sweetie, then walk around to pick up some camp trash to idle the time.  It's now 5:55pm and I have waited long enough.  My next move is to drive the length of Carr Canyon Road to its end at SR92.

They are no where to be seen.  There is no one to be seen.  The road is void of humans and dogs on leashes running.

I now go back up the road, already thinking what life minus two dogs will be like.  But as soon as I near the trailhead to the Clark Springs trail again, both dogs appear in my truck's headlights.  Both dogs willingly jump into the truck. How long have they been running?  

Both dogs are panting heavily, but Gretchen soon catches her breath.  Fritz pants all the way home.  I stay in the truck until his breathing is back to normal, then I go into the RV followed by both Gretchen and Fritz.

I know Fritz is still learning, but his actions today disappoint me.  Why didn't he come back when I called his name?  I'm only grateful that he didn't abandon Gretchen.  He stayed by her side until I returned to pick them up from their night time adventure.  Thankfully nothing bad happened to either dog, but it's clear I still have a lot of work to do with both dogs.