It feels like spring in the air. The temperature hit 50 degrees at our place today. Unfortunately, we know this is only a teaser. Winter is far from over.
When that first whiff of spring is in the air, it sends a signal to every male dog in the country to wander off in search of a love interest. We found out about this firsthand.
When our kids were young, we had a Shetland Sheepdog, known as a Sheltie, named Toby. I don't remember how we chose that name. Maybe the kids picked it. Toby was just a puppy when we got him. It was great for Erik and Amy to grow up with a dog as a pet. I use the word "pet" loosely, because Toby was much more than a pet, he was a member of our family. He was more human than dog. But that's another story. This is about a dog's urges in spring.
When he was young, I trained him to stay in our yard and not go off the curb and into the street. You don't have to beat or yell at a dog to train it. It didn't take long before he knew his territory and he only went off the curb when I was at his side and told him he could come.
That worked great until he was about a year old, when the first smells of spring changed everything. Even though Madison had a leash law, we never tied him up to keep him from straying. Then one early spring evening I let him out to do his duties. When he was finished he would come to the patio door and bark to be let back in. When he didn't show up I went out to look for him. I went around the yard, but no Toby. It wasn't like him to wander off. I walked up the street looking for him and calling his name. I went in the house, got Linda and the kids, and we all started trying to find him. It was typical spring thaw weather. Warm enough during the day to melt snow, and cold enough at night to freeze it, leaving no trails to follow.
It was a very sad family that went to bed that evening. I told everyone it would be all right. He'd probably come barking at the door during the night to be let back in. At least that's what I was hoping. But only silence greeted us that night. We worried about him out in the freezing weather. He was used to spending his evenings sleeping on a rug next to our bed.
The next day I spent time driving around our neighborhood looking for him. I walked the Odana Golf Course where Toby and I would go for a run each day. No sign of him. We contacted our Vet to let him know he was missing. Toby had a collar and tags, so if someone found him they could contact a Vet and they could call us. We called the Humane Society and the dogcatcher to see if any Sheltie had been found wandering around. It was beginning to look grim.
A second day and night passed and there was still no barking at the door. I kept hoping to hear that sound. Our hopes got dimmer and our hearts grew heavier. We began to wonder if someone had picked him up and kept him.
A third day dawned and there was still no sign of Toby. I resigned myself to the fact that he was probably gone for good or we'd have heard something by now. There wasn't much joy in the Sherpe home. As I said, he had become a member of our family, and we had lost a part of our family.
That afternoon as we were getting ready to eat, the phone rang. It was a Vet in Middleton. He wondered if we had a missing dog. "Yes, we did!" He said a family in the country west of Middleton had called to report finding a dog at their place that was cozying up to their dog, a female. They had managed to pet him and read his tags. He was now safely in a pen at their farm. Leaving our food on the table, we all piled in the car and raced off to find the place and reunite with Toby.
When we arrived, they let him out of the pen and he came running toward us. I don't know who was happier to see whom. There were tears of joy at having our friend back. I don't know how he managed to travel so many miles across numerous busy Madison streets and highways and not get hit. It was a mighty happy family that headed back home.
But, the story doesn't end there. The pull of spring on a young dog's hormones is mighty powerful. The next evening as I stood on the porch to keep an eye on him, he suddenly disappeared. I caught a glimpse of him heading between a neighbor's trees. Not again! I tore after him, but he was already out of sight. I got in the car and headed up the street. I saw him darting across Pontiac Trail, heading toward the golf course. I jumped out of the car and ran across lawns in hot pursuit. I finally caught him.
The next day we visited the Vet. Toby never had the urge to go looking for lady friends again. After that, things were much more peaceful for the Sherpe family when spring arrived.
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