Multi Tasking and Winnie Goes AWOL


Something always gives when you are multi tasking.
Feeding dogs, putting up a curtain pole, browning chicken skins to garnish dogs' dinners, preparing chicken casserole, picking logs up, flirting with Mandy next door ( she's just had a new " big hair"  change) Mary's ear drops, shit......no onions for casserole, so hurried trip to shop, remove old shelving from airing cupboard, tidy away excess laundry into space saving " suction bags" ( great fun) hoover mummified mouse from under the bed......
I was hoovering the office carpet when there was a loud knock on the front door.
When I came downstairs a young farmer type was standing in front of the window
" Have you lost something? " he mouthed and I gestured for the man to come round to the back door where I met him at the garden wall.
He pointed to his tall pick up parked by the side of the cottage.
Sitting happily in the passenger seat with her big paws up on the dashboard was Winnie.
" I saw her down by the water treatment" he told me " she got in straight away when I stopped"

I was baffled.
Apparently after I had given her her dinner, Winnie had taken herself off for an uncharacteristic wander. She had slipped through the open gate (!) and had marched off for a mile down the lane. The farmer had picked her up  when she had decided to rest , like an ugly and exhausted  hooker on a small grass verge and  had driven the length of the lane ( some three miles) in the search for her home. Finally he stopped a woman outside her house. who recognized Winnie and she told the farmer where she lived so kindly he brought her home as she happily enjoyed her impromptu country drive.
" She's a friendly big thing" the young man said opening the truck door
" Did she try to kiss you?" I asked him as Winnie reluctantly scrabbled down.
" No......but she HAS eaten half of me crisps!" He replied.

68 comments:

  1. "Like an ugly and exhausted hooker" -- that did make me laugh! The things that go on when you turn your back! Glad she is back safe and sound before you even had to worry...

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    1. I laughed out loud when I read " like an ugly and exhausted hooker" lines like this are why I come here every day.

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  2. And to think she would have merrily enjoyed the rest of her life with him!! Gotta love it!!

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  3. Sometimes a woman just needs to go off on her own and do her own thing for a while! I like her spirit!

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    1. Out of all of the dogs winnie loves her walks the best. She also adores car trips ...i think she just felt in the mood for a walk

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  4. I'm ringing the RSPCA !!!! XXXX

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  5. Crikey mikey! What a close thing to a veritable disaster that was! Oh, welcome home, dear. Now your daddy will pamper you with all sorts of treats (including lots of crisps) to show how grateful he is that you've returned, just watch! But please don't EVER do that again or you'll be bringing about multiple heart attacks and maybe even heart failures here in Blogland.
    Now settle down and reflect on what a lovely home and 'parents' you've got! - but NO more testing their patience, please!

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    1. She hadnt gone far, so i am not catastrophic ing the whole event....winnie has more sense...now if it was mary?

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    2. Not gone far? I'd call a mile (as you state in your post) more than far enough to cause deep consternation! Would have given me the vapours!

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  6. Lovely outing for the ol' gal'. Almost a date. I wonder who the man was (obviously in working clothes) that she took a fancy to and decided to follow.

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  7. Oh oh, yer in trouble now John. She's had a taste of something new. Better put a double latch on that gate!

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  8. I liked this story. It's brief and engaging. Yes I also like "ugly exhausted hooker". You write well Julie.

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  9. What a kind young man! Good guy. Glad Winnie's home.

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  10. It's a canine variation on the "Escape from Alcatraz" theme. Better luck next time Winnie!

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  11. What a good guy to go to all that trouble to bring her home ..... unlike the people that picked up our Mavis when she went off for a wander on her own :-(

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  12. Thank goD you live in a small community! Glad she made it back in one adorable piece.

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  13. When we first moved here we had a golden retriever called Sam who liked to wander. He was once delivered home in the back of the postman's van which was rather sweet.

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  14. I would have collapsed after that.

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  15. doing the chores and ignoring her ...big mistake

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  16. You'll now have to teach her about "stranger danger" and accepting rides in panel vans... but seriously, I found out that our cat was pinging on the neighbour's patio screen door and spending time in his house!
    That was so kind of that man to drive around and try to find Winnie's owner. -Jenn

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  17. Winnie's started picking up her own men,.

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  18. Collar, tag w your phone number, chip w ID?

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  19. What a funny girl! I love this story. Hooray for people who go the extra mile to get a lost pet home.

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  20. Oh dear, my heart .. I lose sight of one of the cats and I panic ! and that's inside my house !
    My dog Tate, would never let me out of his sight.
    He might wander around but he would come back to check on me.
    Strangers always wanted to touch him, but thankfully, he stayed close to me.
    The chips are a fabulous thing. A friend had a cat go missing and the chip saved the day.
    I might chip myself.. I get lost every time I drive somewhere here in Florida.

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  21. What a kind young farmer, Winnie picked a good guy to approach to bring her home. Just don't let Winnie read your post where you describe her as an ugly exhausted hooker. My own wee dog escaped once and that prompted me to buy tags with my phone number and address on it for his collar.

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  22. Oh Winnie - bad girl ! What will you get up to next? I do hope she's microchipped and has a contact address on her collar, if she's going to start exploring beyond Trelawynd. She must have developed wonderlust. Perhaps she was trying to find her way back to those kind people who spoiled her rotten over Christmas?

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  23. You were lucky, this time.

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  24. Nice to hear that there are still kind folk around.

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  25. I have 74 years of amazement at the trouble good people take to get a dog back home.

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  26. What a good man. I'm glad Winnie's home safely.

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  27. Bless him for all his effort!!
    Now Winnie, don't make a habit of this!!

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  28. Anonymous7:04 pm

    The winsome wandering Winnie. I wonder why she did something so out of character.

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    1. She DOES love her walks, epecially when its not raining

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  29. I wonder if a young farmer would pick me up if I left home...

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    1. Depends if you were sitting open legged on a grass verge

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  30. It has all been said! Glad she got back safely but surely she should have a collar with at least your phone no. On it? Legal requirements are your surname , address and a phone no. I believe! X

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  31. How kind of him to bring her home! However I do hope Winnie doesn't now think a ride in a strange man's car = chips!

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  32. It was nice of that young man to take the time and make the effort to find Winnie's home and owner. He could easily have just left her there.

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  33. She didn't kiss him cause he's not a workman. She has her criteria..!

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  34. Karma in action methinks. Glad she had nothing more than an adventure!

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  35. oh my! that was nice of the lorry driver. now you need to be more careful for the old girl's sake, john!

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  36. Winnie has a little doggie angel on her shoulder. And you live in a town full of kind people who might be helped along by those angels.

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  37. What a lovely man. And how kind of Winnie to leave him half of his crisps...

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    1. if the trip home had taken a little longer she might not have!

      this is some of your best work, i think, John.

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  38. Oh she's a card that Winnie!

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  39. You can buy a dog identification tag which says "oh shit I'm lost". Just the thing for your sense of humour and Winnies safety.

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    1. In the three years she has been with us, this is the first and final walkabout me thinks

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  40. Haha awwww, this is too cute. Great picture!
    Thanks for sharing :)

    Take care,
    Bailey

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  41. Great to read of the kindness of strangers.

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  42. Cute story and I'm glad people are honest in your part of the world. Here, she may have been eaten!

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  43. He would not have got away so easily had he been a tradie!

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  44. Bless her and bless him!

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  45. Some dog breeds like pugs and bulldogs do not wear collars or wear them only when being walked/ leashed, so a chip is an excellent way to protect them if lost or stolen. I m pretty sure it cost less than 100.oo for the vet to put in my pug's chip, to activate the number with the chip service, and to register the number with the AKC. Maybe more like 70.oo total. Not expensive at all. Maybe have Mary chipped too, since she's so young?
    [The dogs do not have to have general anesthesia; local if anything.]

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    1. In the UK all dogs have to be chipped, it's the law. It was introduced in Wales a year before it became compulsory in England. Oh and my Pug wears a collar, she gets upset if you take it off her :-)

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  46. We've had all our dogs chipped, and it doesn't seem to bother them at all. The two we have now are retired, and were chipped by their previous owners. They just filled out a form making the dogs over to us, and the vet completed the details and sent it off for us. We take them with us when we travel about Europe, so by law, they have to be chipped.

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  47. She obviously feels she's being taken for granted. You've just got to laugh at her style.
    Jean

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  48. I now have a vision of a bulldog in fishnets. high heels and some bright red lipstick... surely if she's going to ply her trade to the passing farmers and workmen you can find her a corner of Trelawnyd with a flickering street light under which she can linger accompanied by a scratchy recording of 'Lili Marlene'.

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  49. She is such a natural at making new friends.

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  50. Winnie should have her own show!

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  51. I probably would follow a strange man for half a bag of crisps, but only if they were ready salted.

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  52. The Tales of Winnie . . .
    Great story and it ends very well!

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