Lost and found Zorro…

[Ana]

Hello!

I haven't posted here in a while but I wanted to share my last few days with you.

Zorro turned three years old last december. It has been a crazy couple of years with him, but I wouldn't change him for anything in the world. He may be a monster, but he is my monster !

I decided to move to the Netherlands last year and obviously did so with my little man! We got here in November and moved in with my boyfriend. The first month was a little tough for him, but he enjoys not having the snow and cold of Canada (he is a bit of a wimp).

So, we decided to visit my boyfriend's mother for the week and brought the beast with us. He usually spends his time there terrorizing the cat and relaxing on the couch. On Wednesday, my boyfriend was at work, so his mother and I decided to go to the beach with Zorro. She opened the door as I was putting my coat on and Zorro ran out (she didn't know I hadn't put his leash on). So I ran out after him and he was being his usual jerkface self and was checking behind to make sure I was running after him. He then turned on a busy street and stopped in front of a lady who was walking her two dogs. I was sure I could catch him then but as I got closer, the bigger dog scared him and he ran right into the street. Two cars were coming from each direction and as they braked I heard him scream. I got so scared, but saw him run away even faster. Unfortunately, we lost sight of him.

We spent the rest of the day running around in the neighbourhood trying to find him. My boyfriend even came home from work for a few hours to help in the search. We asked everywhere and called the animal ambulance but no one had found him. Eventually, around 8:30pm (he had been gone over 5 hours), we were so exhausted from running and crying, we went back home and my boyfriend went back to work. We were going to wait for news and start our search again the next day.

Everyone told me to relax, that no news was good news… I was losing my mind. I kept going back out... In my head, he was gone... I would never see my little monster again. Around 1am my boyfriend's mother went to bed but I decided to sleep downstairs on the couch in case he came back and scratched at the door. My boyfriend and his mom thought it was silly... I thought I wasn't going to sleep anyway, so why not?

At around 5:30am, I was finally starting to fall asleep but something weird happened. The cat, who was sleeping next to me the whole time starting running around and meowing next to my face... Seeing as she was going to prevent me from sleeping, I sat back up and started watching a show on Netflix. A few minutes later, I hear the faintest scratch. I was sure I was imagining it but I went to check out the window anyway... And I SAW HIM... But I thought it was too good to be true, my mind was playing tricks on me. I ran to the door and when I opened, he wasn't there... I looked down the street and there he was!!! I called him back and he ran like crazy!! He got in a started crying in my arms, I was crying too. I went to wake my boyfriend's mother and she thought I was joking but he jumped on the bed and started licking her face.

We went back downstairs to make sure he wasn't too hurt. He wasn't hurting anywhere on his body but had bloody back feet and his little cushions were cut. But after licking his feet, the first thing he did was try to get under a blanket and passed out.

A few hours later, when my boyfriend got home, we went to the vet and had him checked. No broken bones or bad injuries. She cleaned his paws really well and put some antibiotic cream on them. As usual, Zorro was being the drama queen he is a cried like crazy in my arms. She gave me more cream and pain killers and we went home.

He spent the rest of the day sleeping and cuddling us (never does that). And today he is sitting in the sun like he usually does and looks happier than ever! And so am I... I have never felt so relieved in my life. I had cats that would be outside for more than a few hours... But this is something else!!!! I never thought I would feel so miserable. All I can see when I think about this nightmare is seeing him out the window... I smile every time. My little fox came home!!!

[eeeefarm]

So glad you had a happy ending! It is terrifying to lose a dog, especially a hound, as they will follow their nose or their eyes and never realize until it is too late that you aren't with them! I have been through a harrowing situation involving horses (one was lost for 3 days in our regional forest) and know what a panic you can be in, looking for a missing animal and expecting only bad news. So happy for you and Zorro that he is home and safe.

[agilebasenji]

How scary. I'm so glad he came back.

[DebraDownSouth]

Some of my "stress dreams" are losing a dog or a household of dogs… yes I understand how terrifying. So glad he is okay.

[Ana]

Ohh that must have been horrible to lose your horse for three days! It came back?
I never thought I would ever feel that horrible. I was always scared something would happen to him. But when you are actually in that situation, the rush of different emotions is overwhelming!
I am glad he is safe as well. I don't know what I would have done without him!
He is now acting like nothing happened… Wondering why I have to put cream on his paws. Hahaha
I realized how much he was a part of me when I sat down to read a book and he automatically came to his spot between my legs and fell asleep. I felt such a rush of love for him!

[eeeefarm]

@Ana:

Ohh that must have been horrible to lose your horse for three days! It came back?

It was my friend's horse. We were loading our horses back in the trailer after a ride, and due to a dominance issue (my mare was afraid of her mare) they both bailed off the trailer and took off! We expected to find them eating grass around the next bend, but no, my mare ran from her supposed attacker, and at some point lost her in the woods. We found my girl, but nothing to be seen of hers. Three days later she wandered onto someone's lawn at a house across from the forest, and since we had canvassed the neighbourhood thoroughly, they knew to call us. All's well that ends well, no harm done, but we always wondered where the h*ll she was for those three days! We had searched high and low, on horseback and on foot…...nothing!

Animals never understand that we are afraid for them when they do something like this. They do know that they are frightened and alone, but it won't stop them from doing it again under the same circumstances!

[Ana]

Ohhh that sounds terrible! I am glad you found her. Three days is a long time to wait and wonder.

I am pretty sure Zorro would do it again. Even if he is happy to be home and is pretty cuddly (never is usually), I know he would bolt at any chance he would get.