Gibbs

Sometimes life unfolds exactly as it should.

After being away for a few days, I didn't get to the studio until about 2pm.

My plan was to only stay long enough to check things out.

But that was before I saw the plants for sale down the street from my house.

Seems that one of my neighbors was working in her perennial garden, and decided to thin some things out.

I turned around and went back, and ended up with the back of my Santa Fe full of ferns and hostas.

This got me late to the studio, and then of course, I knew I needed to get the ferns into the ground, before it rained.

So by the time I left the studio, it was 4pm, and it was raining sideways.

Suddenly there was a dog in the road, dodging traffic on busy Rte 4.  I pulled over and jumped out, soaked in seconds.  He wouldn't come to me, and he kept going out in front of oncoming cars.

So in desperation, I opened the back door of my car, and hollered,"c'mon, we're going for a ride."

And that's how I ended up with a large, wet, yellow dog in my back  front seat.

Sigh.

There was a moment there, when I wondered if perhaps he wasn't a friendly dog.   But the thought left me quickly, when I looked into his eyes.  

I proceeded up and down the road, going house to house, knocking on doors.   NO LUCK.

Called home to tell DH I would be here when I got here.

Called L to help me do some detective work.

No answer from the dog catcher.  No answer from the SPCA.  No answer from my vet, who has a kennel that I thought might work short term.

I wondered, aloud, what I was going to do with this dog. (He reminded me of Eddie, btw)

Eventually, I noticed that there was, in fact, writing on his collar.  At first I didn't see it, it was so faint.

It said, "Gibbs".

And there was a phone number, but when I called, the person on the other end didn't know Gibbs, and they had only recently got that number.

There was also an address, 10 miles away.   So I drove there.

Nobody home. Of course.

So I went to the neighbors' houses, and basically asked, "Do you know this dog?"

And thank you Lord, one of them did.

But he didn't belong to the people that lived there NOW, he belonged to the people who lived there 2 years ago.

And they think that they sold this house, and moved over to Rte 4.  (right where I found him)

So back over to Rte 4, with a name, no address.  Back on the phone to L, but there was no address listed for them, no phone number.

I was beginning to lose hope.  Then it occurred to me.  If you sold your house, you likely bought another, rather than rent.

So where, in the area that I found him, had I seen a house for sale in the last couple of years???  

 And I remembered one.

When I got to that house, and drove in the driveway, I saw immediately  a woman on the porch, with a phone to her ear.
As I got out of the car, she came right out.

Did you lose a dog, I asked, knowing the answer.

If you look closely, you can see Gibbs stopping to relieve himself, glad to be home.

And I finally got home, pretty wet, but relieved.  Content.

Glad I stopped to buy those plants, and took time to plant them, so I would be driving down the slick-wet road, just about the time that Gibbs was running wildly down the yellow line.

Who says that things aren't exactly the way they should be.

Except for Roy, who says.................what is that SMELL on you, MOM???????