The dog that (almost) got away

This might be better under “Living with a Dog” but I think it relates to “Living with a Girl” as well.
When I lived all alone in my own place in Belton I had two dogs. The world’s greatest dogs, Payton and Precious.

One of the great things about Payton and Precious was that because they had each other and a pretty big backyard they could play with each other all day even if I was to tired to play.
And they were perfectly content to do so.
Another great thing about Payton and Precious is that they were outside dogs. If I let them in the house for awhile and they got on my nerves I’d just send them right back outside again. I’ve always had outside dogs. I’ve never had an inside dog.
Now that I live with a girl, I have an inside dog. Funny how that happens. You marry a girl and get the dog with her ;-).
Granted, Presley is actually a lot of fun. I like Presley a lot — most of the time.
Not a huge fan of hers in the morning once Laurie lives and Presley gets the idea that she can jump in bed with me and I have to shoe/shove her off. And not a big fan of hers when she only wants to play and I only want to rest. But hey – that’s the joys of having a dog.
Another thing about Presley is we live in a townhome. Great for us, not so great for her. She gets to stay in a kennel/cage most of the day and for some reason she won’t go potty on her own in the backyard. We have to put her on a leash every time she needs to take care of business and walk her across the street or to the “designated areas” for doggie business.
It’s usually quite fun though to watch Presley scratch and sniff around the area until she finds her perfect spot.
I tell you all this simply to relay this humorous story from this morning.
I walked Presley across the street as normal and waited for her to take care of business. We have a retractable leash so we have some control on how far we want her to go.
As I waited for her to find her perfect spot I reached into my pocket and the leash slipped out of my hand.
A sudden fear swept over me. “OH NO! She’s going to take off and I’m going to spend the next 20 minutes trying to get her back.”
I went from a calm standing position to my 6’5″ frame lunging at the ground to grab the leash.
And of course, along the otherwise quiet street, a car was passing by just as the whole thing took place.
Luckily Presley was so caught up in finding her perfect spot that she didn’t even realize her moment of freedom.
I’m sure the passing driver had a confused look on their face as they saw me lunge toward my dog who was busy sniffing a flower.
Regardless, it all turned out well in another day of living with a girl & her dog. And at least this morning I didn’t have to get Presley out from under the bed when it was time to go.