Three Dog (not mine) Day...Really!

I really need to carry a camera in my pocket. The story I'm about to tell you is true, but without photos it might be a little hard to believe (unless you've known me for a very long time).

Last week I left my friend's barn and headed to the barn where I board Tango. The day was as hot as it could possibly be and the scorching sun was literally baking the pavement on the country road. As if that wasn't bad enough, the humidity had to be at least 90 percent. It was awful.


Anyway, I hadn't traveled far when I noticed two large dogs in the middle of the road between two cornfields. One dog was a husky. Both of the dogs looked confused and exhausted.

Out of the window of my car I could clearly see collars on both dogs...and tags. "Good!" I thought to myself. "I'll get the phone number off their tags and find their owner."

I pulled to the side of the road, put on my hazard lights, and got out of my jeep. I called to the dogs. The husky was a little shy, but the other dog wasn't. He saw my open car door and smelled the air conditioning. Quick as a flash, the big muddy dog was panting in my backseat.

Next came the husky, who had clearly encountered a skunk along the way. I took a deep breath, got in the car, and managed to get the phone number off the big dog's tag...I tried (HA!) to stay clear of the skunky husky. The owner of the dogs answered his phone almost immediately. "I've been looking for them everywhere," he said. "Give me directions to where you are and I'll come and get them."

I gave the man directions to my barn and edged back onto the road towards my barn and Tango. Before I could make the first turn, the husky was in my lap...yes he was. It gets better. Now a dump truck was behind me and he wasn't happy. The driver kept laying on his horn urging me to move faster.

I COULDN'T! Not with a husky in my lap. So it went on that way until I pulled into the parking lot of my barn. Nothing is ever subtle in my life and this was no exception. Since all of the people at the barn heard the dump truck's blaring horn, they assumed horses had gotten loose and were on the highway. People came running from all directions. They were thankful that the horses were safe and amused that I couldn't get out of the car for reasons I've already told you.

Long story short (at least this story), the dogs' owner came and got them. My car smelled like skunk, dogs, and mud but I had a nice ride on Tango anyway.

After I rode Tango, I decided to go to a store that carries horse supplies to pick up some fly spray. The store is located about five miles from my barn...of course easily accessible by country roads. I hadn't gone far when I noticed a pit bull dog IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.

I closed my eyes and drove around the dog. Really I did. "No more dogs today... I just can't," I told myself.

I made it to Horse World, chatted with the owners, got my fly spray and headed back to the barn. I had actually forgotten about the pit until I SAW HER AGAIN. This time, I couldn't drive by. She was clearly being attacked by horse flies and I know how bad they are right now.

Once again I put on my hazard lights, opened my car door, and got out. The pit was friendly enough. In fact, she even let me slap the flies on her back (which gave me great satisfaction). It was then that I noticed she had on one of those shock collars that keep dogs inside electric fences. "Poor thing," I thought to myself.

I called the pit to my car and was going to drive up and down the road to find out where she lived. The fly-bitten-pit didn't want to get in my car and I wasn't going to argue with her so.....I locked my car, left the pit where she was and went walking up and down the road, knocking on doors until I found where she lived.

In the end, I was a dirty mess, my car smelled, and my husband wasn't happy. But I considered it a fine day. Why? Because three big lost dogs went home. Am I a sap or what?