Lost and Found

I work at home on Mondays, so it seemed like a good time to get my new kitty accustomed to the house outside of her room-of-seclusion. I put the dogs out and brought Squeek to the computer desk. She explored the area and finally curled up next to the power supply on a shelf under the desk.

Later I decided to bring in my new TV. This meant the front door was open for a significant time as I maneuvered the large and heavy beast from the car to the house. When I got it all set up, I returned to see how Squeek was doing.

She wasn't. I couldn't find her anywhere. I searched the house, then brought the dogs in to search. I sat quietly to see if I could feel her cat essence. Nada. I feared she'd decided to explore the great outdoors. After significant outdoor searching I still came up without a cat. Several times during the night I went out to call and search for her.

In the morning I was heading out to the kitchen, thinking about how I'd look for my cat, when suddenly 3 dogs headed for the closet. I followed, and found my adorable new kitty stretching and offering a small meow. I'm sure the dogs and I had looked there before, but Squeek is obviously a master of the "I am not here" state of being.

My feeling of well being at having not lost a cat lasted until I came home from work. Ursa was not there to greet me. This is very unusual, so I hurried inside to change shoes and grab a flashlight. I searched the area around the house first, thinking her arthritis may be acting up. From there I started down the hill along the fence, searching the hillside and woods as I went down and around the sheep fields. I figured she must be in the flat area by the outbuildings, but was careful to make sure she hadn't gotten stuck somewhere along the way.

But she wasn't by the outbuildings. As I searched the woods coming up the other side of the hill I started wondering how a person can lose a 120 pound dog. I looked behind the dog yard, getting really worried. As I headed by the house I shone the flashlight towards the porch...and the 120 pound dog standing on it, wagging her tail, waiting to be let in.

"Can't you BARK?" I asked, as I gave her a huge hug. I've no idea where she was, or how I missed her. But I was very glad to see her there.