This story comes from much more recently in my life as a pet sitter/dog walker, yesterday. now a lot has changed from when was starting out until now. The first main difference is I own the company I work for. The other big difference is I don’t do a lot of pet sitting or dog walking anymore. My main function in my company is to get clients. I do the advertising and the marketing which includes this newsletter you are currently reading. Therefore I am somewhat out of practice when it comes to filling in for pet sitting and dog walking.
With all that being said the dogs I visited yesterday were once regular clients of mine. I saw them every single day for quite a long time. They are some of our earliest clients and one of our favorites. So it wasn’t like I was walking into a house where I wasn’t known. In fact, when I opened the door all four dogs ignored me completely and went outside. It wasn’t that they weren’t happy to see me but they are used to me. Even after this long of a time apart.
I need to explain something about these dogs. There are two littles and two bigs. They all have tons of energy and love running around outside. One o the littles does sometimes prefer to sun herself but they are all a bit o a handful when it is time to go back inside and there are four of them.
This is why I started trying to round them up with two minutes left on the timer. I knew it would take at least that much time if not more to get them inside. My routine in getting them inside is to walk up to each of them and start moving them toward the back door before walking around them and calling all four names from the back deck.
I got three of them. The two bigs and one of the littles came running up and I let them inside. I watched them through the glass and counted. One, two, three dogs. Two bigs and one little. Then I went back into the yard to collect the final dog who was already meandering her way towards me.
With all four dogs in the house, I went to give them treats before heading back to my car and writing my visit report. I gave the smallest treat to the smallest dog and then the next treat to the next dog and then I noticed only one of the big dogs was in front of me. I tossed him his treat and called for the last dog. No one came. I thought this was strange as these are not dogs to turn down treats.
I walked all through the house. Or at least the parts of the house that weren’t baby-gated or behind doors. That made it all the much stranger. The dogs had access to only the kitchen and a small living room area. I knew I saw both big dogs enter the house and I think I would have noticed one going by me when I let the fourth dog inside. These dogs are not subtle.
Still, I figured the most logical thing to have happened was the dog snuck by me when I let the fourth dog in. I resolved to check the yard. I walked outside, turned to the left, and walked around the yard clockwise. No dog. This is a large orange Golden Retriever. It is not an easy dog to miss, but missing the dog was.
At this point, I was wondering how do I call the clients and tell them their dog vanished. They didn’t get out, they didn’t escape, I saw them go into the house and then poof, gone, into the thin air.
I had an idea. Perhaps not all the rooms had been closed off when I let the dogs inside. That must be it I thought. I let them inside and they closed themselves in a room. I went back inside, walked over to the bedroom door, and opened it ever so slowly as not to let in any other dogs and I am consistently paranoid that someone is going to jump out at me from behind closed bedroom doors.
Nothing. It was then that I heard a slight rustling behind me. I closed the door, turned, and from out behind the coach came a dog. Now this couch was up against the wall and the opening looked like it could barely fit a dachshund let alone a large Golden Retriever. Yet there she was, and there I was holding her treat.
With a slight shake of the head, I tossed her the treat and headed out the door thinking this is going to be a story to tell. The strange case of the disappearing dog, and I am glad I didn’t have to call anyone to tell them their dog vanished before my eyes.