This is a photo of our little precious. At one of the rare moments when she holds still. In this shot, taken at last summer's sheltie roundup here in Shastina she is "quiet" only because she is in the middle of a yardfull of strange people and dogs. The truth is that she is terrified and hiding here by my side (that's me in the chair).
Last night she didn't stick with me, though. I'd left a gate open as I was wheelbarrowing fill for our garden and she decided to follow our other shelties out through it. Andrew as he always does was sniffing the yard across the street and came on call. Oliver who is deaf was there too, and came because Andy did.
Not Tiffany. By the time we noticed they were out she had fled. Now most shelties are very shy and will flee from human approach. They tend to hide when afraid too, diving into culverts and under porches when being chased which makes finding them even harder. So rather than sticking with her pals Tiff decided to go it on her own and headed off.
We got a call from someone on Possum Court saying she had seen a sheltie headed up Hogan so we jumped in the car. But with a flighty breed like this it's hard to see them. Unlike the docile (and sensible) Lab, they don't just trot alongside the road. Oh no, cross country it must be.
So of course we called the LSPD. Stan Beck was on duty and promised to watch for her. In addition and unknown to us, other people had somehow heard and headed out as well . . . real estate clients, other sheltie owners, and like the lady on Possum, complete strangers.
Soon, Stan got a call and had her spotted on Big Springs Road by the police department. We were stunned that she would go so far (we live on Muskrat in Unit 7-3) and by the time I got there she was on Lake Shore near Gallop. Even when I called her name and got out of the car she was too frightened to come at first but eventually I got her leash on and started home.
I thanked Stan and he pointed to a walker who he said was looking too, so I stopped and thanked her. She was the one who had called earlier.
The moral of the story is how nice it is to live in a place like this. Where neighbors and even complete strangers notice who you are and look out for you.
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