Oliver is kind of like our first born. He was our baby before we had any babies of our own. So, I never ever imagined we would ever leave him behind. But then we did.
Yesterday, we planned a last minute trip up to Fort Wayne. Ross had to go for work anyway, and since I am not working in Louisville yet, we are pretty flexible in being able to go along. I needed to get a replacement ID anyway, so it just made sense. The plan: pack up before bed, drive up while the kids slept in the car. Bring Oliver with. We did all of those things... except the last step.
In the frenzy of getting Quinn fed, the car loaded, the toddler strapped in tightly, with his bear. And his water. Oh, and a snack. No, the other bear! (do you see where this is going??) We let Oliver roam the yard a bit. Last second, after the rest of the "circus" is loaded into the car, we always call for Oliver, he jumps in the car, and we take turns over which lap he is sitting on. We always had done that anyway.
We didn't notice anything at first. We stopped. We got gas in the car. We turned the sound machine on for Quinn to begin sleeping, and we got on the highway. We made it over the bridge, and then we hit traffic. At the time, it seemed to be a pain to sit in bumper to bumper traffic. Little did we know, it was actually a blessing in disguise. All of a sudden there was a smell. I said, "Ross? Did you fart?!" All offended, he told me know and suggested maybe it was Oliver. WAIT. OLIVER. WHERE IS OLIVER?!?!?! Oh, my gosh. WE LEFT HIM.
This is when panic sets in. Is he in the yard? He's freezing! He has been outside, in January, for over an hour. He just had a haircut, so he doesn't even have a "winter coat" on! Or worse, maybe he ran off. Maybe he chased our car down the street?? What if he gets hit?
Ross turns the car around. We are 45 miles from home. I started hyperventilating. Then crying. I was trying not to start sobbing, as Ross rubs my back. We start calling everyone we know. Being that we live in a new city where we don't know many people, the options are limited. We call a friend we just made, we call our neighbor and leave a message (who doesn't have a cell phone, only a land line!!) We call the dog sitter we used one time. No one answers, until I call our REALTOR. I called our realtor, people! I felt so back calling her, but this was an emergency. She said she would drive right over.
About 25 minutes later, we hear from her. I am RELIEVED! She has a very suspicious Oliver in her car. She said that she found him on the side of our house. Honestly, I think that he was trying to find a way into our back yard. He was tying any way to get inside. Poor little guy!
On a funny note, our realtor (Laura Audrey, who is AWESOME!) did find a friend for Oliver in her car, though I feel as though he was less than impressed. LOL!
We decided that it was too late to head to Ft. Wayne at that point (womp womp) and that Ross would just head there in the morning by himself. Oliver snuggled into the bed, and I held onto him a little bit tighter. It is funny how you think you have "just a dog." Or that life would be just the same without them. But they really are family. Oliver has been by my side, trying to steal my bed space through SO much. He has witnessed my graduation from college, he stole my mom's heart with regards to dogs, he witnessed Ross and I dating, engaged, married. He watched as my belly grew large two times, as we welcomed Palmer and Quinn (and watched Ross and I turn into someone else's mom and dad). He has been through a move to South Bend, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and now to Louisville. He is not a perfect dog. But he is OUR dog. We love him, and he is a big part of our family. So, this morning, I am happy to have him to snuggle. I am happy to have him "guard" our house. I am so happy to watch our kids love on him. He is safe at home, with us, right where he should be. It is safe to say that we will be MUCH more observant as we are heading out of town in the future. Sheesh!!
