Always Look Behind You

The other morning while I was eating breakfast the dogs let me know in no uncertain terms that they wanted to go back out and play in the snow some more. I turned on the mercury light that illuminates at least part of the back yard, and let them out.

A short time later, Taz the Pomeranian, Lhasa Apso mix, scratched to come in.

“Where's your partner?” I asked, but he just wagged his furry tail and grinned his overbite grin at me.

I waited for a while, and then put on my head lamp and went out to look for her. A Papillon, she's a tiny little thing and we worry about her having a run-in with a Bear or a Coyote or even a Raccoon, all of which, at one time or another, have visited our back yard. Like most small dogs she's way too fearless for her own good.

“C'mon Squeak!” I called, and tried my best to whistle. ( Since I got my partial denture I can't whistle for shit.)

I walked back into the darkness toward the fence that separates our yard from the large forested area behind it, the headlamp making a dim circle on the trampled snow.

“Here Squeak!”

I searched under the big Fir tree at the far end of the yard and worked my way back along the fence, shining the head lamp back and forth in front of me. Now I was starting to get worried, and bad thoughts of what might have happened started running through my mind.

“Squeak!” I yelled as loud as I could with my weak Parkinson's voice.

I searched everywhere, and finally stopped at the last place I could think of, under an overhanging Spruce tree beside the house. There was still no sign of her, so discouraged and heart sick, I turned to go back. When I turned I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye behind me. I spun around and saw something dart in back of me again. Finally when I bent over, she came out from behind me to be petted, her head cocked as if to say,”This is fun! Can we play some more?”

“Squeak! Dammit, this isn't a game!” I said, laughing despite how worried I'd been.

I don't know how long she'd been following behind me, but I think Squeak and Taz, who'd been watching the whole thing, both enjoyed every minute of it.