A Dog with Nine Lives

We have just returned from having our pet dog, Raspberry, a Jack Russell terrier, microchipped, after what have been the most worrying couple of days of our experience as pet owners.

About 48 hours ago, sometime between about 10pm on Saturday night and 7am Sunday morning, when there had been some storm activity, Raspberry went missing. When we realised she was missing on Sunday morning, we didn't know if she was stuck somewhere in the house or downstairs in the garden shed, and we hunted high and low. High because this is the dog who has been known to climb up shelves in a storm and low because her favourite spot to sleep is under our bed. It was all to no avail - she was nowhere to be found.

By mid-morning Sunday, having searched the perimeter of the property, we decided she must have absconded. Still, there was no obvious sign of her breaking through fence lines, so we were completely mystified. I'm not ashamed to say I was starting to consider alien abduction as a real possibility. This theory was debunked, however, when a boy who lives a few houses down from us came and told us at about lunchtime on Sunday that Raspberry had presented herself at their house sometime around 11pm on Saturday night and he had brought her back to our front door, knocked and received no reply, so left her there. While she was still missing, at least this was a positive sighting and gave us reason to hope.

Meanwhile, we put up 'Lost Dog' posters around the neighbourhood and various parties had conducted foot, bicycle and car searches, without success. As soon as we realised she had gone missing, we had telephoned the pound, and, about mid-afternoon, we took a drive out there. There was several very cute dogs waiting to be collected by their owners, but sadly, not our little dog. The pound staff told us that a lot of 'found' dogs aren't reported until Monday because people don't realise the pound is open on a Sunday, which gave us more reason to hope. I must admit, though, by last night, we were all feeling pretty sad. Not knowing where she was or whether she was even alive was the worst part.

This morning delivered the miracle we'd been praying for. I heard a few shouts from out on the street, looked out and saw my son's friend, his dad and a little white dog heading towards our house. It was our little white dog, Raspberry! They had spotted her sniffing around one of their cars in their driveway. No need to say it was a very happy reunion!

If only dogs could talk, we would love to know where she spent the 30 hours or so that she was missing. It's a complete mystery! She was in pretty good condition, too - a few cobblers' pegs and dirty paws only. Considering she could have been hit by a car or mauled in a dog fight, she is so very lucky.

Hence our theory that this dog really is part cat, in that she must have nine lives. She's given us a few scares before, but nothing like this. Today, we have been out to have a new tag engraved with my mobile number and, as previously mentioned, taken her to the vet to be microchipped. Ideally, neither of these precautions will be needed, but, knowing Raspberry, we have not seen the last of the antics.

Did I mention the anxiety medication the vet also prescribed? I must check the label as to whether it's meant for the dog or its owner - after our ordeal, I don't know who needs it most!

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