The Loneliness of the Long Distance Lurcher

Hi, Keith here! I love my foster home – with its wide open spaces and rabbit-infested thickets, it’s the perfect place for a dog to spend the lockdown. There’s a big beach, and a massive golf course with no golfers on it because no one’s allowed to play golf at the moment. I expect the golfers hate that, but I love it because there’s plenty of space to run about while keeping a safe distance from others.

The  only downside is the electric fences around the greens. I was unlucky enough to brush up against one of those the other day. I didn’t know what had happened at the time. I thought I’d been bitten by some vicious monster – it wasn’t a normal bite, but a burning, tingling bite, full of evil magic. I ran for my life to get away from this demonic entity, and the humans didn’t have a hope of catching me.

Photo by ~ Steinkirch on Pexels.com

I went on running until I was exhausted. I’d managed to outrun the Monster of the Golf Course, but now I was completely lost, miles from home in unfamiliar territory. I tried backtracking the way I’d come, but I’d employed so many dodges and detours to throw off the pursuit, I kept losing the scent and going round in circles. People I’d never seen before were calling my name, which scared me even more. They seemed like nice people, but I didn’t know them, so I kept my distance. For hours I wandered hopelessly through the woods and fields, feeling scared and lonely and wishing I was home in my nice warm bed.

By the time it got dark, I was hungry as well as scared. I thought I’d better head for the nearest village and see if I could find something to eat. I tried the Co-Op, but it was shut. Then I found some food that someone had dropped in the entrance to the school. While I was eating it, a man appeared with a special lamp for tracking down animals in the dark. I was going to run away again, then I heard a familiar voice calling my name. It looked like Snip and Frieda’s human, Jan, waving a bag of treats, but I wasn’t sure so I stayed where I was. Then I saw Snip’s other human, Alain, and I knew my Greyhound Rescue friends had come to get me. I ran up to him and he put me in the car and brought me home. It was wonderful to see Annabelle again and know I was safe.

I’ve found out why all those strangers were calling my name. I’m famous! Annabelle had posted about me all over Facebook. She’d been taking calls from people who’d spotted me and passing on the sightings to other people who were searching. We couldn’t get over how many people went out of their way to look for me, and I feel a bit bad about giving them the runaround. In fact I feel a bit silly about the whole thing, now Annabelle has explained that electric fences aren’t demons and they can’t chase you.

Apparently, I ran about five miles! No wonder I’m still cream-crackered.