Runaway Dog

Date: 1/7/2023

My daughter J's dog runs away while we are carrying groceries back to the car at the University. I have our old dog on a leash but J let go of her's. I told her to hang onto it but she had to prove I was wrong. I take the groceries to the car while she runs after the dog. I catch up to her in a snow bordered parking lot and she has the dog, but as I get closer I can see it's not A. "Yes it is," says J. "No! Look! It's groomed. It's tail is wrong. Look at its face. It's not even a pug!" J reluctantly admits it might not be her dog, but wants to keep it. She calls it "Mickey Mouse or Something". We look through the parking lots. There are a lot of dogs, some with walkers and leashes, some loose. No A. "If I were a dog, I'd go in those woods" I guess. There is a long strip of woods between the parking lots and Finch. I go first to see if it's safe. I can hear young people partying but they don't sound aggressive. We walk along the woods calling for the dog. Then some young men start following us in a menacing way so we jump down a hill onto the sidewalk. "It's getting dark. Perhaps we should come back in the morning," I suggest. J agrees. She will take the new dog instead. I am surprised because she loves her pug so much! She seems so depressed and emotionless. "There she is!" I see A on the sidewalk in front of us. J drops the other dog's leash and runs to pick up A. She is so relieved and happy to see her. "Should we keep the other dog, too?" J asks if I can take it. Two dogs. They may fight. We head back for the car. J waits for me to catch up inside a man's truck so A cannot get away again. I pull my car up beside him, way too close. J gets in with her dog and the groceries. I thank the truck driver then get back in but she's put all the groceries on my chair. But she jumps into the back and moves the dogs and groceries into the back seat with her. I pull out slowly, careful not to scrape the truck beside me. I hit the horn by mistake and suddenly stop. The man is behind me on the road with his truck and I almost hit him. I hate backing up. Maybe I shouldn't be driving anymore.