Caleb and I have a very sweet, very lovable, very energetic dog named Cooper. Cooper is so high-strung that one of our friends gave him the nickname "Shenanigans", because he always seems to be getting into trouble. One of the ways Cooper likes to get into trouble is by running. There's not a lot that can stop him. He has lived in three different houses (with us, of course) and has found was to escape from all three of them. The current house we live in makes it too easy for Cooper to escape. Our backyard is on a little bit of a slope and the fence in the back corner is subsequently easily jumped over. The way we deal with this is by taking him out on a leash.
The other morning, I was getting ready to take our herd of wild dogs outside while trying to coax my lollygagging two year old to come down the hallway and join me in taking the dogs outside. I was so wrapped up in trying to make sure that O was walking down the hall towards me instead of getting into trouble, that I put a leash on a dog without paying much attention to what I was doing.
Once O finally joined us at the back door, I let the dogs out. Cooper took off like a shot and I quickly realized that I had put the leash on the wrong dog. Cooper finds ways to escape fairly regularly, so we have gotten pretty good at retrieving him. However, most of the time when this happens, Caleb is home and he can go get the dog while I watch O. This time, I was home alone with O. I was still in my pajamas and O was just in a diaper.
I knew we had to get ready as quick as possible if we wanted to be able to get Cooper so I quickly dressed O and myself in the first outfits I could find. I grabbed Cooper's leash and a piece of bread to lure him to me when I found him and we headed out the door.
In the garage before opening the door, I said a quick prayer. I simply said "God help me get Cooper." I was worried about how chasing Cooper was going to work with O. I'd never had to do it before. I couldn't leave her in the car to get out and get the dog and I was pretty sure that he wouldn't run up and jump in my car, so if we were going to get him back, we were going to need some help.
When the garage door opened, I saw Cooper in our neighbor's yard. I called to him and showed him the bread I had brought him. He ran right up to me and I was able to clip the leash on him without ever having to get in the car. I am so grateful for how smoothly it all transpired. I didn't expect to see Cooper out my front door since he escaped from the back. I certainly didn't expect him to run right up to me, despite having bread, and I most definitely did not expect him to not try and evade my grasp once I reached out for his collar. I know that there's no way I could have made that recovery on my own and I thank God for bringing my Cooper home to me safe and sound yet again.
The other morning, I was getting ready to take our herd of wild dogs outside while trying to coax my lollygagging two year old to come down the hallway and join me in taking the dogs outside. I was so wrapped up in trying to make sure that O was walking down the hall towards me instead of getting into trouble, that I put a leash on a dog without paying much attention to what I was doing.
Once O finally joined us at the back door, I let the dogs out. Cooper took off like a shot and I quickly realized that I had put the leash on the wrong dog. Cooper finds ways to escape fairly regularly, so we have gotten pretty good at retrieving him. However, most of the time when this happens, Caleb is home and he can go get the dog while I watch O. This time, I was home alone with O. I was still in my pajamas and O was just in a diaper.
I knew we had to get ready as quick as possible if we wanted to be able to get Cooper so I quickly dressed O and myself in the first outfits I could find. I grabbed Cooper's leash and a piece of bread to lure him to me when I found him and we headed out the door.
In the garage before opening the door, I said a quick prayer. I simply said "God help me get Cooper." I was worried about how chasing Cooper was going to work with O. I'd never had to do it before. I couldn't leave her in the car to get out and get the dog and I was pretty sure that he wouldn't run up and jump in my car, so if we were going to get him back, we were going to need some help.
When the garage door opened, I saw Cooper in our neighbor's yard. I called to him and showed him the bread I had brought him. He ran right up to me and I was able to clip the leash on him without ever having to get in the car. I am so grateful for how smoothly it all transpired. I didn't expect to see Cooper out my front door since he escaped from the back. I certainly didn't expect him to run right up to me, despite having bread, and I most definitely did not expect him to not try and evade my grasp once I reached out for his collar. I know that there's no way I could have made that recovery on my own and I thank God for bringing my Cooper home to me safe and sound yet again.