missing

These are our two oldest, Juliet (above) and Rigel (below).

We got home about noon from a busy morning at church and were beginning to relax when McKinlee scratched the doggie-door cover off and scrambled through the door to the yard. Rigel went in hot pursuit. McKinlee, not trained yet to the invisible fence, hopped merrily out of the yard and on to one of the neighboring homes where dogs are in pens. Rigel remained in the yard, barking after her. I decided to let Juliet out as well. She will wander, but it has never been far, and she returns to the call of her name within minutes.

I went back into the house to check on something, and in another minute McKinlee voluntarily came back through the doggie door and into the house. I secured her within and went out to retrieve the other two. Gone. Neither of them were in sight. The call of their names produced no result. I got in the car and toured the neighborhood. No sign of them. Ken joined me and we circled other parts of the neighborhood. No sign of them.

On her own, I trust Juliet to return on her own. With Rigel with her all bets are off. He has never been off lead outside of the yard. My guess is that she would stay with him out of sense of maternal responsibility, being the more cautious dog in the first place. But now it's been an hour. I've taken another tour around a broader scope of the neighborhood. There is a breeze, so my voice won't carry but in one direction.

My heart is beginning to squeeze and tears prick at the corners of my eyes. I have prayed. I have called. I have looked, I have stopped people and asked if they have seen the dogs. The bad news: neither of them has ID's on. Both have collars (Rigel has two), and there are rabies tags attached, but the ID tags came off and have not been replaced yet. I am doing everything I can to avoid becoming a wreck.

Pray for their safe, voluntary return. Soon. Save my sanity. These are my babies. I don't want to think about what might happen next.