"Here Yeller, Come Back Yeller": PART 2

So we closed on our house yesterday, were very excited, have our own keys and one garage door opener (missing its twin), and I come home to an open side gate in the back yard which can mean one of two things: a) the side gate is open, and 2) Parker is gone. Crap. Four of my friends would be coming over to the old house within the next 20 minutes to help me load up and move. And Parker is vamoosed. So I search in the twilight to no avail, feeling a little silly calling his name, but getting worried about him. Carly looks for a while as well while we load the cars, truck and minivan. I get up early to work a little while before the sun comes up so that I can put up posters and look again at first light. I create this little sign here, and stick 20 of them up in my neighborhood on well-used telephone poles. Still panicking.


Just before lunch I head out to begin looking in the two animal shelters in town and to file a missing pet claim so they don't euthanize the poor little guy. While I'm driving to one of the shelters, I get a phone call from a man who asks, "Is this the owner of Parker?" Joy! Pure, giddy, little kid with ice cream all over his face joy. "Yes! How in the world..." "Well, I found him last night and walked him around the neighborhood for a while hoping someone might recognize him. So when I went to put up my FOUND posters this morning, I saw your MISSING YELLOW LAB posters and tried to return him to your house. No one was home so I thought I'd give you a call." So I met this gentleman (maybe retired? maybe works the night shift?) in his driveway with and excited Parker and an oversized collar. Now, Parker is still very puppyish, and jumps up on people, sniffs their butts, etc. But he doensn't try that trash with me. He knows who the alpha-dog is. But when I got out of the car, it was like full on bear hug. You bet I let him jump up and lick my face! Here's the flyer that our new friend on North Fountain made up to place in the neighborhood.


It's amazing how pets can get to your heart. It's also astounding to feel the loss of something that is valuable to you. Makes me think of Jesus tell the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. He was wanting us to see what it's like for us to be lost, then found by him. There is significant sorrow in losing, and surprisingly profound joy in finding! And he's only my dog!

A darn good one at that.