We went to the dog park in the morning and got there late. Only a couple of Ray's usual friends were there so he didn't run as much. After about 30 or 40 minutes, we left with our friends, Lisa and Patch, and went for a couple mile walk. Then Ray and I returned to the dog park (I had left my water jug) and Ray ran with some new friends for another 30 or 40 minutes. Then we went home.
As usual, Ray sacked out. But he didn't stay sacked out. When he woke up, Ray started to pace. And whine. And pace. And whine. I thought maybe he had to go out, but that wasn't it. I tried to ignore it. I tried hard.
At about 1:30 or 2:00, I hooked Ray up to his leash for a walk down the street to get Murphy. I had told Rachel, Murphy's mom, that I would take Murph for a walk in the afternoon if I wasn't working. When we left the house, I saw Kappy, who was home visiting her mom and dad, across the street. Even though Ray has only met Kappy a couple of times, he loves her. He goes gaga whenever she is around. (I think it's because they look alike. They have the same coloring and freckles.) So Ray and I headed over to say hi to his friend and get some much-needed attention for the hound dog.
We then continued on down to Murphy's house, retrieved the dog, and walked around the block together. When we got back, I turned them lose in the backyard where they raced around for 10 or 15 minutes. It was hot and muggy. The dogs were really winded and panting, so we took Murphy to her home and Ray and I returned to ours. Ray paced and whined. And paced. And whined. And whined and whined and whined. And paced. I could tell he wanted Murphy back.
After an hour or so of this, I put Ray out in the backyard and watched as he tried to tunnel through the back gate. When he realized that he wasn't making any progress he started to whine again. He finally laid down against the gate just in case it magically opened and Murphy appeared.
At about 4:30, I took Ray for his preprandial walk. He tried to drag me up the street to get Murphy but with much pulling and cajoling, I convinced Ray to go in the opposite direction. We toured the block and returned home where I fed Ray. He finished dinner and curled up on a chair. Relieved, I started to clean the kitchen prior to Gregg's arrival home from work.
The minute Gregg got home, Ray got up and started his pacing again. And his whining.
Gregg and I left Ray in the house and retired to the porch for a cocktail. Kappy and her mom came over, and Ray, hearing Kappy's voice, started a tunneling operation on the inside of the front door. I have a couple of baby gates across the front porch so I can let the pooch out in the evening while we sit outside. I figured I might as well let him out to visit with his girlfriend again. Ray came out the front door, barreled through the baby gates and headed down the street, tail swinging, toward Murphy's house with me, barefoot, in hot pursuit. He made a slight detour toward William's house, but decided at the last minute to stick to his original plan and go for Murphy. I gotta give the dog credit for stick-to-itive-ness. He wasn't giving up.
I trotted down the street after him but wasn't having a lot of luck catching him. He never comes when called (at least not when called by Gregg or I) but I was calling, nonetheless. Ray made it to Murphy's front door and knocked (scratched) a couple of times (Murphy was going crazy inside), then, when I got close, took off around the side of the house. He realized that he didn't know where he was going so he started back towards the street.
At this point, thank God, my neighbor Charlotte, hearing me calling, got involved and started calling "Ray! Ray!" Ray hearing another sweet voice that he loves, headed for Charlotte. She snabbled him and I gratefully took his collar and led him home. Ray was smiling from ear to ear. I went home and looked up "Gypsies" in the Yellow Pages but didn't find any listings.
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