Andy the Great to the Rescue (Sheba goes missing) š¦
Yesterday was a shocker of a day! Stomach churning anxiety, fear, tears and constricting heart muscles were the order of the day for our family, including the dogs.
Sheba the chocolate (going grey) Labradoodle dandy dog went missing in action. This action is defined as an attempted grooming situation with Jazz and Sheba (who both suffer from generalised anxiety disorder or woosy poodle syndrome).
Both dogs were unenthused with the idea of getting their coats de-matted and clipped. Much resistance was encountered when encouraging the darlings to get in the van that would transport them to the groomers (this is part of the salon service).
I hate sending the dogs to the groomers (only happens when their coats are totally unmanageable) and my stress levels were skyrocketing way before they got picked up.
I have attempted to clip the dogs wool myself (Labradoodles have a sheep’s coat) and purchased the best of clippers and scissors for the job. However, Jazz and Sheba had different ideas when it came to close shaves and refused to participate, resulting in very strange looking Doodle hairdo’s and sore neck and back for moi. Not to mention lots of sneezing from this pack leader (who is allergic to most things on the planet).
Anyhoo, I was relieved to see the dogs on their way and was looking forward to the return of sweet smelling, short-coated greyhound type dogs. I took advantage of dogs in absentia and set to work cleaning the house and mopping the floors (something which is difficult to do with two dogs following your every move).
My husband Andy the Great (who coincidentally had the day off work) answered the phone during the morning. He was informed that Sheba had escaped. She had jumped out of the hands of the groomer in the style of Rudolf Nuriev. She’s a smart dog – she knew that clippers were close at hand and she didn’t want a bar of it!
This had happened on exiting the van that had transported the load of long haired and dirty dogs to the countrified dog salon. A salon situated on acreage with a fully dog proofed fence. The staff called out her name but this made Sheba run faster and faster.
Andy the Great immediately drove, at great speed, the 25 minute journey to the dog salon to encourage Sheba in her return. When he arrived he joined the staff in a systematic dog search, zig-zagging back and forth across the grassy fields. However, Sheba zipped about with a speed that has never been obvious to anyone before (remember this is the dog who thinks she is a cat) and slipped through the gate (yes, the gate was open – doh!), crossed a fairly busy highway, nearly got hit by a big truck (he honked his horn and she did a u-turn), and managed to get to the other side to hide amongst the scrub and bush of the adjacent National Park.
To cut a long story short, Andy the Great and one of the groomers spent the next four hours searching the bush for a brown dog who didn’t want to be found! They also didn’t have any water with them. I was following the action via mobile phone. Andy the Great told me ‘we’ll never find her in this scrub, not in a million years’ – great – heart attack material – tears on toast (or afternoon tea by this stage). I was sick with worry and Tessa was crying and Michael was very concerned. Andy the Great was ropable.
At 3.30pm the phone rang and Andy the Great informed us that he had found the dog; she was bedraggled, disoriented and thirsty. He had gone back to the salon to see if Jazz was ok and Sheba had walked back through the entrance gate (after crossing the main road again – groan!). It seems she had decided that life in the Australian bush was not to her fancy after the luxuries of the Bryden household.
Her paws were grazed and her coat dishevelled, but otherwise she was unharmed. I on the other hand am still recovering from the shock.
She is finding it hard to forgive me for sending her to the horrible groomers and keeps giving me the evil eye. It may take her a few days and many hugs and treats for her to completely forgive. It may help if I tell her that she will never have to go back to that salon in the sticks.
Andy the Great is now basking in the adoration of two kids, a wife and two dogs. I am very impressed with his dogged š perseverance and courage in the face of a long bush search without water. He was quite willing to stay there until after dark to find the woolly beasty. We could have lost both of them!
When he arrived home covered in mud, with hair askew, he cracked open a cold beer and told us all about his day.
My hero!
Gabe Feathers McGee 
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