Baby Boy Goes Home

     In my last posting I was on a mission of rescuing 'Baby Boy' before nightfall. Afraid that he wouldn't survive through the bitter cold that was moving in, I knew I had to catch him, now. With a strong cold wind blowing and my promise to the 'dog catcher' that I would bring the dog in, I knew I had my work cut out for me.
     I bundled myself up, climbed the fence, and parked myself in the snow, with plenty of treats in my pocket. The longer I sat in the blowing wind the colder I got, but I patiently waited, knowing that it was now or never for the little dog.
     I sensed he was watching me from a hiding spot in the bushes. Eventually he got a little daring and moved in close enough to where I could read his tag. A distant noise frightened him into a run and back into hiding, so I quickly wrote the info in the snow. I knew then that we both would get a lot colder before this ordeal was over.
     Eventually I think he realized I wasn't leaving without him; or maybe the cold wind had worn him down and the thought of a warm lap was suddenly something he could no longer resist. Whatever his reason, he came out from hiding and very eagerly climbed onto my lap and cuddled close to my body.
     The little dog that just a few seconds ago was so scared was now covering my face with kisses. I looked into his eyes and heard, "Thank you. It's been so long since I've had the loving hands of a two-legger on me." I placed him inside my jacket and hurried to the warmth of the house.
     The dog catcher was soon knocking at my door. I remember his surprised look when he saw me holding the now very calm dog. He told me he would take the dog and attempt to contact the owner from the info on his tag. If not, I could claim the dog.
     The next morning I hurried to the shelter to check on Baby Boy, only to find that he was gone. Fortunately, they were able to locate the owner, and she in turn left a number where I could contact her.
     The first time I visited her home a protective, barking Baby Boy met me at the door. The barking ceased as soon as I stepped in and Baby Boy smelled my shoe.
     As Baby boy eagerly jumped onto my lap, his owner and I put together the pieces of his incredible eight month journey to find his way home.
     His real name was Bear, but they often called him, Baby Bear (which would explain why he responded to my calling him Baby Boy).
     Bloomington is a large city; I lived in the far eastern side and Bear's family lived in the far western side. The previous May, Bear's owner's daughter and her boyfriend were watching Bear for a weekend. Annoyed with the dog, the boyfriend took Bear and abandoned him on my side of town.
     After searching for a couple of months, the owner eventually resigned herself to the fact that Bear was gone. Until... she received the call that she had given up hope on: Bear was alive!
     Being Bear's rescuer, I was given permanent visitation privileges. On my first visit with Bear, the true joy for me was looking into his eyes and seeing how happy he was to be home.

     So long, I'll see you soon!