Oates does get some freedom in the front yard… but not much; he just can’t be trusted. It’s the beagle in him. Loves to sniff, loves to dig, loves to run.
During our front yard parties in Paradise, he gets to be on a short tieout. He can reach everything he needs to reach, although he doesn’t think so. He’s always stretching the limits and tugging at the cable.
This particular day, I was excited about getting my old bike fixed up and ride-able again. With the help of David (the boyfriend) and the neighbors friend (Bradford), I was ready to blaze trails on my old Trailblazer in no time.
Seems that Oates was also excited to blaze some trails this day… It was late afternoon on a Saturday. We had gathered a small crowd of friends in the front yard for brewskies. I gave them a wave as I headed down the street, and quickly realized that one handed bike riding was not a good idea. I grabbed hold tight and looked ahead. I only went a few houses down and was about to turn around when I heard some yelling from the direction of my house. In no time I saw a blur of fawn furn and floppy ears bolt passed me toward State Line Rd. It gave meaning to "faster than a speeding bullet."
It only took seconds for me to realize that Oates was loose! I cried out for him and almost passed out as he zipped past me full speed toward the busy street at the end of our road. Of course he didn’t even hear me (or want to). In fear that I would crash if I rode my old bike down the steep hill, I ditched it (maybe in the middle of the road, I was too panicked to remember) and took after him on foot (thank you new Teva Mush flip flops, you were comfy and I could run with you on!). He ran into the street and narrowly missed two cars passing by, and thank goodness made it into the park – still – full speed. As I crossed the street into the park with tears in my eyes and sweat on my brow, David (the boyfriend) comes cruising awkwardly after me and Oates on my girl bike. A sight to see – his knees to his elbows and bowed out so he could pedal.
We chase after Oates as he comes to a brief pause at a tree for sniff. Calmly, I call for him, but as he sees us approach, he obviously thinks we are playing chase with him and he takes off toward the jungle gym, again – full speed.
Thank goodness for the warm and sunny Saturday – the park was littered with all kinds of people. Oates was interested in excitement coming from the jungle gym, and this is where his freedom finally came to a stop. He ran off toward the kids, and approached an older lady. We yelled for her to “GRAB HIM PLEASE!!” as we made our way over, out of breath. I scooped up the 20 pound assailant and trudged him back up the two major hills to get back to our house. David decided to stay on the bike, and proceeded to lose balance and fall off of it while we were still in the park. Another sight to see!
We got back to the front yard to find 2 cold brewskies and some friends waiting for us, not to mention the broken tieout (Advertised to contain up to a 30 pound dog; FAIL). Oates got to spend some quality time in his house for the afternoon, and hasn’t been allowed to hang in the front yard since. He got a stern talking to, and he better not scare me like that again! Goodbye freedom, hello leash!
