Well, my girls (ages 14 & 12) went back to school today. Tatum knew something was up this morning when they were actually out of bed before I left the house. She was following them all over the house. Her usual summer routine is to go get in bed with them when I leave the house. They've been home with her all summer and she hates to see them go back to school. They were each gone separately to different camps this summer and she missed them each time but for the most part, someone has been home with her just about every day.
It was this week a year ago that she scared the you-know-what out of us. Our cleaning lady was at the house and when she put Tatum out to potty, she decided to take off to find the girls. My MIL lives down the hill from us and I know she was thinking that the girls had left her to go down there. She took off running, Lois (cleaning lady) running through the pasture behind her. When Lois got to the fence that Tatum ran right under, it took her an extra minute to climb it. By the time she got over, Tatum was nowhere in site. That poor lady searched for an hour before calling my husband and then finally calling me. I work an hour away from home and my husband is an insurance adjuster who works out of the house but is one the road part of each day. He broke speed limits to make it home as fast as he could. They did finally find her a few roads down (we live out in the country). She was nice and comfy at a neighbor friend's house. This lady didn't know she was ours but could tell it wasn't a stray. I have a strong feeling that what led Tatum there was that she heard the lawn mower going and thought it was the girls on the Gator so thought she would go find them. I can't imagine what she must have thought when she realized it wasn't them. She just sat on the neighbor's porch until she was finished mowing. Then the lady took her in, picked all the sticker burrs off her and started out in her truck to find the poor baby's home. That's when she met my husband on the road in the Gator looking for her. It was a terrifying several hours for me since I couldn't come home but it turned out okay. From then on, whenever the girls aren't at home, Lois makes her go out to potty on her harness and leash.
Sorry, this is so long. I've never shared that story before but I'm nervous now that the girls won't be home with her. Lois will definitely be on guard this week when she comes to our house.
