‘A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.’
– Josh Billings, American humourist.
Have you ever lost a dog before? Last Friday night, I lost my one-year-old female dog, Bailey, for an hour. It was the longest hour in my life.
In that one hour, I went through a lot of conflicting emotions. I was angry with myself for not making sure that the front gate was properly locked before entering the house. Slim Bailey went out through a tiny gap in the gate in the wink of an eye.
Tired after a long day at the office, I was looking forward to sleeping early after feeding the dogs their last meal for the day. My plan came tumbling down because of an oversight.
I was angry with Bailey, which had just been spayed, for always trying to look for opportunities to explore our neighbourhood. Some people call this instinct wanderlust.
Do you know that wanderlust is part of dogs’ genes, dating back to the days when they were roaming in the wild, and that this wanderlust continues even today even when the dogs are domesticated?
Anyway, I am tired of punishing Bailey. How often should we punish a naughty dog? Does it understand that the punishment is for its own good?
That night, as I waited impatiently for Bailey to come home, I kept asking myself, “Will it know the way home?”
You see, I have never taken Bailey for a walk around the neighbourhood ever since I adopted it. Perhaps, it is time to do so now no matter how busy I am on my days off.
I also informed my younger sister, Ah Lan, that Bailey was missing.
I debated with myself what I should do if the dog never came back that night and became truly lost.
I had let the older male dog, Cookie, out after Bailey disappeared into the dark. Soon after, Cookie returned home alone and without Bailey.
Immediately, I messaged Ah Lan, “Cookie is home. Bailey still missing. If it does not come back, I will forget about Bailey.”
It was around 11pm then and my neighbourhood was dark. Most families were already asleep.
My sister called me back and said, “ But you have spent so much efforts and money on Bailey.
Sayang (pity) the dog if you don’t look for it.”
After that, I had no choice but to put Cookie on a leash. Then, both of us walked to the main road and some of the nearby streets in the neighbourhood.
Sensing our presence, many other dogs in the neighbourhood barked and howled. That made me stop in my tracks. Scared of being bitten by other dogs, I turned back and both Cookie and I headed back to my house.
Along the way, I peered into the dark bushes by the roadside. There was no sign of Bailey.
At home, I opened the door to my backyard and called out Bailey’s name a few times. This was just in case it was hanging around there.
Suddenly I thought I heard Bailey barking. But I wasn’t too sure. However, I know not all dog barks sound the same. Cookie, for instance, has deep, rumbling barks while Bailey has yappy, high-pitched barks.
I closed the door to my backyard after a while. It was all dark outside. A few minutes later, I opened it again. What if Bailey came back to the house through the backyard?
When it was a few months old, Bailey had followed me once to the garden. It disappeared after a while and I thought at that time, I had lost the little dog forever. But I found it about an hour later — in the deep drain behind my house. That was the first and last time I allowed it to follow me to the garden.
Bailey was so terrified after the fall that it could not walk properly. I had to cuddle the puppy which had fallen into the smelly drain water and carry it home. We used the long way because I did not open my backyard gate.
Anyway, last Friday night, Bailey did indeed find its way back to the house through the backyard .
As my sister had forewarned me, the dog was traumatised after getting lost.
Trembling, it headed straight to the sofa in the living room and laid down at my feet. It looked frightened and confused. I had to spend some time comforting it. After the incident, it also lost its appetite and ate very little.
Thank God, Bailey managed to find its way home that night. At least, I could sleep well after that.
I know some missing pets never come home. Believe me, losing a pet is very painful. It is like losing someone you love.
My friends, I guess I have to look into microchipping Bailey next. I don’t know what the naughty and energetic dog will do next.
I know microchipping is a superb way to ensure a pet’s speedy reunification with its owner and that owners have a higher chance of finding their pets if they have microchips than if they do not.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
