Escape!

Last week, Grace managed to slip over the fence and was on the lam for about 10 minutes. She followed Ella to the wooded area at the side of my property (where Ella likes to go to the bathroom). Ella came back without Grace.

My property is about 300 yards from the intersection of two (relatively quiet) roads. I knew that Grace would probably head that way, since the woods are thicker as you walk away from the road.

She did. As soon as I pulled my car out of the driveway, I spotted her. As soon as she saw the car, she turned the other way and ran a few feet down the road, so I stopped and called to her. She knows her name (thankfully) and turned to listen. Ella and Robbie were with me, so I let them out of the car. They both ran towards Grace.

Grace was ready to run the other way, but the two little ones got close enough for her to recognize them and she ran up to them for a quick sniff. I backed the car down the road and pulled into the garage.

Robbie really likes to ride and doesn't like to be left behind, so as soon as I got out of the car, he was next to me. Ella came running down the driveway and then came Grace. She really does not like to be alone and relies heavily on the more confident dogs when outside.

If Grace has escaped any earlier in her time here, I would never have been able to catch her. Honestly, I didn't catch her this time. I walked around the house until we got to the door that Grace was familiar with and we all went in that way - she would never have come into my garage and gone in that door, since it was too scary for her. She stayed about 15 feet from me the entire time. Granted, she followed me, but was always 15 feet away.

The funny thing about shy dogs is that they do not tend to wander away from their home, unless they follow another dog or get scared by something. They are extreme creatures of habit and stay where things are known and safe for them. That's why it can be difficult to take shy dogs on trips - if they slip their collar, they do not have those familar surroundings to help keep them calm, so they bolt and are extremely hard to catch. Sometimes, a Hav-a-heart trap is needed. Sometimes, the dog is never recovered.

Grace and I were really lucky that day.