Jed's Adventure, or should it be Misadventure?

Wednesday afternoon John took the Jellies for a walk at the mushroom farm, not my favourite place as Jed had vamooshed from there twice before. But we always got him back thanks to the kind doggie people who would ring up. Once from Cutmill about 5-6 miles away when he joined a family party in the garden at the house of a friend of mine!!!!

But since he now walks on the extending lead I thought it would be a doddle and let them go happily I stayed home as I had my "ladies" coming for Stitch & Chatter. After an hour John came back:"they are both gone, I whistled and whistled and nothing" it turned out he had gone off with out the extendable lead, with out any leads at all; he had thought they were in the car when they were not. (Man never checks things it seems.) I immediately hared off to the car park luckily we had had our lunch; and when I got there there was a very kind scruffy chap who had Nellie on a length of string. A very muddy but happy Nellie. I stayed awhile whistling for Jed; but nothing. All of a sudden a car with a lovely woman and her mother turned up at the car park and asked if I had lost a black dog, she had seen him crossing the road a little way back towards Godalming but he vanished into the wood. (We exchanged mobile Numbers and names, hers being Emma, and she said she would phone if she saw him again or caught up with him). Aha I thought: "t'is walkabout Jed", he will surely come now when he hears my whistle. I waited and waited, and whistled and whistled but nothing not a sight of him. By now as it was 1/2 hour past the Stitch & Chatter start I decided reluctantly to go home. Not too worried as I had my mobile on, and he does have a disk with our phone and my mobile number on it, as usual we wait patiently till some one calls to say they had found him. Poor Nellie was hosed down and not at all happy at being alone.

By then end of the session I and my friends were getting slightly worried, and they persuaded me , although I didn't need a lot of persuasion to go back to the car park. They promised to wait till I got back. Again no Jed: again I waited and waited and whistled, Emma turned up again to see if he was there or if we had found him. After a long wait I went home again in time to catch my "ladies" awaiting me by the garage and I could say goodbye. Nellie was fed, and she mooched about with her 'soul' under her arm pit, as we say in Dutch. We had our supper and we were getting more and more worried. John went to look again at 7pm just in case.......but no Jed. He went again at 9 when it was getting dark. By that time I was rather frantic visualising Jed round around in the woods and sitting shivering in the car park thinking he was abandoned. We finally went to bed, Nellie sleeping in our room, I had the phone and my mobile under my pillow, you never know. As you can imagine we didn't sleep that well for worrying.

Next morning still no calls; John went again to the car park with a printed poster. Then he went to London while I went googling for a website to do with lost dogs. There are several, and one of the tips I got was to contact our Dog Warden. Called the Godalming one first but when I told them where we had last seen him I was told that that area came under Guildford and to contact the Dog Warden there. Can you imagine my relief when I was told that they had pick up a black Staffie in the area of Norney Farm, and that they would be delivering him to Treetops a Guildford kennels. I was told to wait a bit and to phone them a little later.

Which I did, and was told to come as he was just being delivered, but that I had to pay a fee and/or fine of £52!!!!!!!! I was so happy that we was being restored to us, and that he was not sailing away that I didn't mind; though I will charge John at least half of this. And all our friends & even Emma, who had gone once more past the car park were just as happy! The welcome I got, actually he charged and launched himself at me when he came out of the door, and couldn't wait to get into the car and home soon enough. Just as well as Nellie was rapidly becoming white with anxiety! And the reason why we got no phone calls and why he was picked up by the Dog Warden: his identity disk was gone, not his collar only the disk!!!!! He is now the proud owner of a new one, shaped like a bone.

That's all folks, "all 's well that ends well" but we hope he has learned his lesson.

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