Today we put up Christmas lights on the birdhouse. The shopping centers and malls all have their decorations up so I might as well do the same.

An hour after putting the lights up, I returned the ladder to the neighbor and packed up the boxes. I also went out to the store to buy some kibble. When I got back, I went upstairs to get the dog but he wasn’t there. I looked in every room and he was nowhere to be found! My thoughts raced. I must have left the door open when I was returning the ladder! I grabbed the leash and ran outside to look for him. As I walked around the neighborhood calling his name, I couldn’t help thinking of all the bad things that could have happened to him…”What if a coyote got him?” “What if he got hit by a car?” “What if someone found him and they’re not going to give him back?” It was also the one day that he wasn’t wearing his tags too. I had just put on a brand new red collar on him and hadn’t moved the tags over yet. DOH!! I was on the verge of tears. I had no luck so I came home and took the car around. Luckily I found him just up the street wandering around. I called his name and he came running. Phew! That was close. I gave him a big hug and drove him home with a big sigh of relief. As soon as we got home, I put his old collar back on and fed him. Man, that sucked.