The Missing

My freedom has once more come to me.......yesterday being Traci and Randy's last day of their seminar. The kids were really no problem, as a matter of fact Hunt and Jay stayed at their house most of the time......heck, they slept till around 2:00 in the afternoon yesterday. I had to roust them up the day before that cause I wanted to take them to the park where we were gonna meet Katherine and Mason so Kan and him could play. Everything has gone smoothly except I had a terrible fright night before last. Wayne and I were getting ready to go to bed and I went to put Baxter in his carrier, much to my surprise he wasn't in the house. Now, the cold front had come in and it was cold and dark, VERY unusual for Baxter to be outside, most nights he beats us to bed and gets in his carrier by himself. I was quite puzzled, but thought that maybe he had ran out when Traci came over to tell us of their learning's of the day. I went to the door and nope, no Baxter. I hollered and hollered into the nights air, but there was no sight of him anywhere.......I just couldn't believe it, GONE just GONE. We went on to bed, but I got up several times thru the night to see if he was at the door wanting in. Morning came and still no sign of my little Baxter. I was heart sick. All I could think of was that a coyote or some other wild animal must have gotten him. I got myself dressed and started walking the area. The old guy that lives down the road and walks every morning was out so I asked him if he had seen my little dog. He told me, he had. Baxter was down across the street from his house and ran into the woods on that side of the street. I just couldn't figure........WHY he had done this. He had never ran off before. I got in my jeep and combed the neighborhood.......no sign of him anywhere. I got back home and walked to the back and guess what I found?????? GUS, was nowhere to be seen. The cable he was on was gone and so was he. It all started making sense to me. Gus got loose and Baxter followed him off into the night, well, this scared me more cause I knew Gus absolutely runs amok when not confined. I called and called those dummies. Finally late into the morning, I had gone back out to call some more and here comes little Baxter running towards me.......I was ecstatic.....so glad to see him. I got him in the house and tried to coax Gus to come to me, but he wanted no part of being put into captivity again. I had to just leave him alone and eventually he did come and lay in and around the house all day until he let Hunt get close enough to hang on to him for me. I had to dig up a collar cause his collar and the cable and all were gone. I walked him back to the fenced area and led him in, with only one buck of distain from him. He is safe and secure and my little Baxter, after a good bath and the cutting of stickers out of his little feet is home. We can only speculate what had happened to cause these events to occur. I started it by feeling sorry for Gus. He was in the fenced area and he only has a big carrier thing, not a real dog house and I was afraid he was going to get cold thru the night. I told Wayne he should be moved to the shed that's out back to block the cold wind off of him. So, Wayne went out and moved him and we don't know if the cable wasn't connected or what, but he escaped taking my little Baxter with him in his caper. I really do feel sorry for him.....I know he wants to be free, but he is a bad boy and would terrorize the neighborhood. Our neighbors have two little bunnies that they do let hop about their backyard......I would hate to say what would happen to those bunnies if Gus saw them. We just can't chance it, knowing he is aggresive to cats and other little animals. In my grievance of Baxter's dissapearance I wrote this poem.

Contless hours, I sit and wait,
Where have you gone, what was your fate;
I think of you, alone and cold,
I want you back, my arms to hold;
You loved me always, bad or good,
and I loved you, as best I could;
Into the night, you ran and ran,
thoughts of you scared, I could not stand;
Please find your way, back to my heart,
I do not want, this way, to part;
I pray to God, show you the way,
Come back to me, come back today;

with that I will say......Till next time.