Our whole front yard is peppered with wild violets. They're beautiful! They're up in Andy and Shelly's woods, too - with some on our portion of the front, too. How do I know they're up in the woods?
This guy. That's how I know. Tag has been exhibiting a little doggie dementia over the past few months. Sometimes, he'll roam around the yard like he's confused. He has some odd behaviors in the house, too. The past few days, he just sits at my feet. No matter where I am. Occasionally, he chooses the most awkward moments to move in under my legs while I'm seated. He doesn't want to move either.
Such was not the case yesterday. I was getting ready to go out and feed the Barn Girls, but got sidetracked when Tag pushed the door. Once he was out he headed straight up the hill for the wood lot. Nothing I could do would turn him. He stopped once to look at me, and then ran uphill like he had an important appointment.
With my rotten knee, I couldn't move very fast, so by the time I got to the woods, he was nowhere to be seen. I limped back down the hill and told Handsome that Tag had run off on me and I'd be in my car looking for him.
About twenty minutes later, I drove up to Andy and Shelly's to see if he'd shown up in their yard. (He hadn't.) Andy offered their four-wheeler to me so I could look for him. I accepted. I drove through the woods, and Andy hopped on his atv and went around the back of the woods.
We met around the back side of the lot, so I turned around to try another field. I happened to look to my side, and there, in the brush was my boy. He stood looking at me like he was confused. I called him and he ambled to me. Then, I put his slip lead on, picked him up, and put him in the back of the four-wheeler.
Of course, he'd managed to roll in something nasty, so he got a bath once we were back at the farmhouse. I thanked Andy for the use of his machine, as well as his helping look. I transferred Tag to my Explorer and we headed down the hill.
Handsome helped me bathe the boy, and then I tied him out in the shade to dry off. He was perfectly content to roll around in the plush grass, and he spent an hour there getting dry. Of course, I kept the lead on him when I brought him back into the house.
Cookies were made (with some delivered up the hill), and then I sat down for a bit. Honestly, I was pooped. We did go to the estate sale (I'll share our purchases tomorrow), so my day started earlier than usual. Add the little adventure, and my concern for Tag, and I was thoroughly ready for bed at the end of the day.
We'll be keeping Tag on a lead when we take him out until I can plan a small yard to turn him into where he can't get away from us. He doesn't seem to be in any distress, but he sure is acting like the little old man he is. I'll be keeping a much closer watch over him.
