Runaway Jax!

Wow!  Has it really been over a month since my last post?!  I have two excuses.  First, I have been incredibly busy and stressed out.  Work has been insane this spring!  Second, Jax has become such a "normal" dog now that I don't feel like I have as much to report!  I'll do better.

Last week, while Bonni was visiting, Jax took the opportunity to give me something "exciting" to post about.  It is a story now, maybe even a little funny if you were an onlooker, but I can assure you, at the time (and Bons will agree) it was a nightmare! 

Scenario-
 Bons is getting packed up because she is leaving for MN later that afternoon.  I am home on lunch break and am taking out recycling, while advising an employee over the phone (damn multi-tasking).  I am not out the door but 2 seconds when I hear a beep and the dogs fly past me on the front steps!   Jax had opened the door and let them out that quickly!  We have known for a while that he has a talent of open the inside doors but he has never opened this one.  It's a heavy, outside door that he had to turn the handle and pull toward him at the same time.  My heart sinks.  One of my worst deaf-dog fears is happening.  What followed is somewhat of a blur.   Bons is outside almost immediately, as she too heard the security system beep when the door opened.  Dixie is interested only in "going bye-bye" and hops willingly into the car.  Jax is so excited to be out that he turns and heads down the street.  Bons follows him while I run in to grab leashes.   I get Dixie on a leash and we run down the street as fast as I can to catch up with Bons and Jax.  Poor Bons is running in a sundress and no shoes down the middle of the street.  I give her my car keys as I reach her and she runs back home to get the car.  I don't know how long we can keep up with him on foot.  He is one fast dog, and did I mention it is about 96 degrees outside?  My only thought is not to let him out of my sight.  If that happens, he is lost.  Right now, he is just loose.  A lost deaf dog is usually a gone deaf dog.  He has no clue that I want him to stop running.  He turns around to see us frequently, but has no intention of stopping.  There is a moment of hope when he sees a squirrel and chases it up a tree, but I can't get there in time.  He is darting back and forth across the street checking out every yard.  Luckily, all the yards in my neighborhood have fences so he can't really get into the backyards.  I get so close, he and Dixie have touched noses a couple times, but I just can't reach his collar.  I am running down the street, red-faced and screaming to him, pleading to him, to come back, but he can't hear me.  He has no clue what a dangerous situation he is in.  I lose sight of him for a second and a feeling of hopelessness comes over me.  Dixie is watching him vigilantly and knows  that he has gone behind a shed.  Thank god!   Bons is back with the car and she is following me down the street.  We start running up to people's carports to try to trick him, by making him think we are going into their house.  I don't know how much time is passing, but as the two of us and Dixie are on this chase, we are causing quite the stir in the neighborhood.  Passing cars are watching us, and every dog in the vicinity is barking wildly.  Suddenly, I am in someone's carport and I notice a padlock on the ground.   Their gate is unlocked.  Without a thought,  I open it and Dixie and I walk into the fence yard, motioning for him to join us.  He stares at me, hesitating.  I am praying that he follows us.  Nervously, he walks through the gate and I lock him in!  The relief I feel is enormous.  He is now extremely worked up, as he can see that we are all scared.  There are dogs barking at us from all three connecting fences.  Bons takes Dixie to the car and after a couple of minutes, I am finally able to grab him while he stops to pee.  The second I have the leash on him, he seems totally content again, oblivious to what all of the fuss was about.  We get in the car, all of us panting like crazy! 

When we got home, we were hot, sweaty, naseated, and in a bit of shock.   I remembered throwing my phone on the ground at some point and I also managed to lose a leash along the way but I didn't care.  Jax was safe.  Thank god that Bons was there to help us.  It wasn't a one person, one dog job!  Thanks again Bons!  Dixie seemed to know instantly that it was no game and that Jax was in trouble.  She was so good.  She knows that he is a little different than she is and really compensates for it.  Bons and I were very proud of her. She has matured incredibly since he arrived.

This was a total wake up to one of the risks of owning a deaf dog.  I let my guard down for one second and that is all it took for a near disaster to happen.  You have to be 100% aware all of the time.   It's not just like having a hearing dog that you can just call to when they accidentally get out into the yard.  The world is a dangerous place for him to be loose in.   It would have killed me if anything would have happened to him. 

New knobs and locks, and the addition of a screen door on the way!