THANK YOU!

We recently moved to the country and one of the first things we had to do was build a fence for our dogs. Apparently other people can trust their dogs to stay around the house. We can't. Our city-raised dogs understandably have no clue what property boundaries are. No fence apparently means it's a canine free-for-all, complete with a lot of intriquing smells and wonderful-smelling places to investigate. Hence the fence.

But we aren't great fence-builders, one of them reminded us last night by escaping. How he squirmed his big barrel chest through that little hole he'd dug and pushed under the fence I have no idea--but he did. Still traumatized from the last Great Escape, I check on them frequently when they're in the yard and that was how I discovered he was out. My husband heard my yells and grabbed our keys. We ran for our vehicles and took off.

Cars passing by made me stop and wait to pull out into the road. I looked around--and saw my beloved boy! (He's actually probably a senior citizen now but he's still "my boy" to me. His mischievous nature certainly hasn't changed.) His beautiful white fur was gleaming.... in the headlights of cars on the busy road. Oblivious to the fact that he was exactly where his sister was when she was hit by a car, he crossed the road while the cars' drivers slowed or braked to let him pass. They probably didn't know that I was watching in absolute terror.

Time moved differently in those moments. My heart was on the road with my boy, at the mercy of those cars. I was close enough to see him and the danger he was in but too far away to protect him from it.

To those drivers who saw my beloved boy standing on a Blount County road last night and let him safely cross the road--THANK YOU!! I saw your kindness but was focused so completely on him I have no idea what you were driving. He crossed the road and I was able to pull out onto the road, rush to his side, and usher him safely into the car. My boy was safe because of the kindness of strangers and I am grateful.

(Note: The above picture is not a picture of my boy. It's a very similar likeness I found on the internet. )