Chuck’s Great Escape

June 15, 2018 – I was recounting this story to a colleague this morning and I thought it was worth sharing……

I am the proud owner of Chuck – a beagle cross. Chuck is very stoic. He rarely shows emotion.

It was May 2015. It was a Sunday afternoon. I was meeting a friend of mine and her dog at a park. Just to walk together. I arrived at the park first and was standing around. I saw Monica and her dog, Hudson, and waved. As they approached us, Chuck started wagging his tail and whimpering. He was so excited and happy! I thought to myself, “Wow! Chuck wants to play!”. So I dropped the leash. Chuck started running towards Monica and Hudson. How cool! Then he kept running past them towards the trees bordering the park.

Monica and Hudson were regular runners. Unfortunately, I’m not. But we started running after him and calling out “Chuck! Come!” I shouted at Monica, “What’s behind those trees?” and she shouted back “Houses!” I was screwed. If there weren’t any fences, Chuck would keep running and he’d be in some sub-division. We got into the treed area and there was Chuck running up a hill. Fences! I thought he would stop. Nope. He was running down the hill. He started running through a ravine. We chased him – branches slapping us in the face. I could see Chuck in the distance – leaping and bounding like a gazelle. He was in his glory. Monica, Hudson and I were not. I was losing sight of them. My heart was beating so fast I thought I was going to have a heart attack and die on the spot.

Chuck veered out of the ravine and on to a path. The path curved. I lost sight of them. I prayed that Monica and Hudson would catch him. As I rounded the curve, I saw Monica and Hudson still running. The path led to the park entrance. If he got out I’d never see him again. Then I saw Monica walking back with Chuck. I was so happy to see him. I tried not to cry. I almost lost him. I couldn’t yell at him. I didn’t know what to do.

We staggered to the nearest bench to sit down. I could barely breathe. Monica and Hudson were breathing heavily. Chuck wasn’t even panting. How could that be?

I asked Monica how she caught him.  She said that Chuck had made it to the fence and then stopped to pee. She heard a car door slam, it startled Chuck and he started running back towards Monica and Hudson. She managed to step on his leash.