Adventures

And so it goes that when you have animals and children, there is always an adventure.

The children and I were playing outside at my parents' house. Dad had run to the store, and I was there with the children and the dog. Sass was digging in the dirt, and Spyder and I were throwing a ball when I realized that Molly, Dad's hound dog, was missing.

I started calling her, but no response. The neighbors two doors down called over that Molly had headed to another neighbor's house. Sure enough, I could see her waggy tail peeking out from the bush in front of the yard three houses down and across the street.

I called to Spyder for him to get the leash and follow me. I told Sass to stay where she was, then I took off after Molly. By this time, she was in front of the neighbor's fence, barking at their three dogs -- two Pit Bulls and a German Shepherd mix. And they're big. And not so friendly.

I was almost to Molly when I heard Sass scream and start to cry. I abandoned the dog, and ran over to Sass. She had tried to follow, and halfway through the yard next door, she stepped barefoot into a patch of stickers. She was scared to sit down on the ground, but she couldn't walk back to the driveway. I picked her up and carried her to next door's porch. She was still crying hysterically, and she wouldn't let me help pull the stickers out. And she had a lot of stickers in her foot. I let her get the stickers out, then I carried her back to my parents' driveway, again telling her to stay put.

Spyder had found the leash by then, and I grabbed it and took off -- again -- after Molly. By this time, Molly was darting in and out of the fence, alternately attempting to play with and not get eaten by the bigger dogs. Luckily, the dog owners came out and rounded up their dogs, so I was able to get Molly.

Molly and I walked back to the house, and my dad passed by in his truck. I couldn't see Sass or Spyder anywhere, and I had a panicky moment thinking, "What ELSE?" then I realized that Sass had situated herself on the couch. In true Princess style, she had gotten Spyder to fetch a wet washcloth for her foot, and as I walked in the door she was asking him to get her a cold drink.

Twenty minutes. In a span of twenty minutes, I had located and rescued a dog. Sass had run into a spot of trouble and been rescued. Spyder had been turned in a servant boy, and Sass had declared herself worthy of service.

All in a day's work.