We Almost Lost Charlotte
Last Saturday I experienced for the first time the possibility of losing one of my dogs. I’ve always been very careful about securing them, and making sure I’m aware of where they are at all times, but last Saturday we were getting ready for my mother-in-law’s arrival, so I was on the second floor cleaning and packing. Knowing that I couldn’t spend much time playing with the ratties, I let Charlotte and Cayenne out into the backyard to play.
There never was a problem of them escaping, and the only “hole” I’m aware of is a small one just under the wooden gate of our fence. I’ve always assumed they were too big to go through that hole, they had to go down and under and had to literally squeeze themselves out of it.
So there I was, upstairs, folding the clothes, and then went downstairs to check on the girls. All I saw was Cayenne on the couch. So I called to Charlotte, but there wasn’t any reply. I ran out into the backyard and no Charlotte. I started to have a sick feeling in my stomach, thousands of thoughts ran through my mind, from thinking she had been kidnapped, escaped, or got poisoned and was laying unconscious somewhere. I quickly ran out of the house to look for her, but she wasn’t anywhere. After running one round around the complex, I ran back into the house, and shouted to Doug, “Charlotte’s GONE!” and broke into tears. I was crying like a baby, and Doug freaked out. I was at a total loss. Doug went out to look for her, and I went another way to look again. Nothing.
It was a one of my nightmares coming true. I was sooo afraid she might get hit by a car, and all I would find was her dead body. Oh you wouldn’t believe all the things that were going through my mind, I was worried, afraid, sad, guilty, all at once. We were looking for her for about 15 minutes, at least that’s what it seems like, but it might be longer. As I walked back to the house, in the corner of my eye, I saw an object to my left running towards me, and OMG, it was Charlotte! I called out to her, and thankfully, she kept on running towards me. It was such a feeling of relief and the realization of how close I was to losing her. What happens if she didn’t come home? It was awful to think of that possibility.
I picked her up and hugged her, and I think she was wondering why the hell my face was wet with some salty water. She didn’t feel that fazed about the whole thing, which was good, that means she hasn’t been traumatized in any way. I quickly checked her body for any broken bones or wounds, and there was none. My little girl’s home and that’s all that matters.