On Monday I looked out of the window when I got up and it was dry with threatening clouds scudding across the sky. I decided that Nico and I would go for our walk which has shaken out to about three and a half miles, but for Nico running off lead its probably more than twice that distance. However, by the time I went downstairs and got myself and Nico ready for our walk it was already raining lightly. At that stage I couldnt disappoint Nico and decided to go. This was my first mistake. I dont mind the rain but Nico does. Everything went well despite that it started to rain quite hard. Then on the way home I decided to explore a part of the woods that we hadnt been in before. This was my second mistake. Nico was running off lead as I walked down an unfamiliar path. Nico disappeared into the undergrowth and after a minute I began to call him and blow his whistle. Because of the rain I couldnt hear Nicos disks chinking or hear him moving through the undergrowth. Minutes went by and I became increasingly concerned. After five minutes I was really worried and phoned Ann to say I had lost Nico and resolved to search for him until I found him, calling and blowing his whistle all the while. Then after about five minutes Ann phoned me to say he was sitting outside our house eating a chicken carcass! It was less than ten minutes since Nico went missing and he had walked more than a mile from the woods back home and through two steel kissing gates that I had mistakenly assumed were secure. I can only guess if it was the rain that pissed him off or he got disoriented in the unfamiliar part of the wood and just decided to go home. Fortunately the route home from the woods is through a quiet cul-de-sac and then an enclosed footpath. Nico will not approach strangers and if they approach him he runs away. So all in all it shook out OK, but it was a worry. Since Monday we have been out on our regular walk and he has continued to run off lead and there have been no subsequent problems. So some valuable lessons have been learned.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 03:30:59 +0000
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