The Max Smack

Today finds me outside cleaning the hot tub wherein the last guests left enough sand to create our own beach in the backyard. I walk around to the front of the house to get mail out of the mailbox. My neighbor appears with his dog, Buddy, for their usual early evening walk. What perfect timing, as I wanted to ask him how the sale of his house was progressing.

We are in the middle of the street comparing real estate options and hearing-aid woes when Buddy took off running. Unbeknownst to me, both Max and Mickey had jumped off our second-story deck and were in the neighbor’s yard. Buddy, who weighs 100+, without a doubt, is a solid mass of Rottweiler mix. He has no trouble locating both my cats, who are perfect Halloween yard decor, hunched up and hissing next door. I warn my neighbor that Max, who weighs a whopping 7 pounds, is a scrapper and can get aggressive. Buddy might get Max smacked.

Mickey Moose is then spotted running home as fast as possible to his mama and the safety of our second-floor deck. He pokes his head out over the deck railing looking for his baby brother, who is on the run deep into the forested area behind our house. Buddy chased him in but comes back 15 minutes later. Max does not. The search is on. I’m rattling the cat treat container and calling for hours. No Max. I raise up the garage door so he can seek safety if he’s not home by midnight. Our neighborhood abounds with birds of prey, including eagles during the daytime and horned owls at night.

In the meantime, Don wakes up at 9:00 pm and, after cleaning out the cookie jar, takes advantage of the unlocked gate to attempt escaping for the second time today. I chase him down the stairs and request he return to safety on the top floor. He flat out tells me “No” twice.

Kristy: Oh, I see. This is the thank you I get for taking you out to lunch yesterday. Is that it?

Don: What lunch?

Kristy: While you are out wandering the streets in 45-degree weather in your PJ’s, see if you can find Max. He’s missing. I will be in the kitchen cleaning up the mess from a dinner of ham and scalloped potatoes you requested and didn’t eat. Let me know if you find what you are desperately searching for every day to get away from the only home you have now.

Don came back within minutes. I put him back to bed without incident.

At midnight, I made one last call from the front porch for Max, who had been gone for hours. This time he came running in from the darkness and his brother was there with me to welcome him home.

Note to Self: I endure by writing it down and then letting it go. (First Corinthians 10:13)

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