Sequoia and our hour of terror
Just to start out so no one panics...everything turned out fine in the end...ok so now on to the story.
Sat afternoon at around 3ish my husband was out raking leaves out of the flower beds while Sequoia was on her zip line on the porch chasing squirrels and birds from the feeders. She doesn't get to do this often but we thought it would help give her some exercise. The zip line doesn't allow her to reach the door to the house since sometimes the cats sneak out between my feet and I want them to have a safety zone.
Well that is what happened...Deirdre, my Abysinnian mix, slipped out between my feet when I stepped out to talk to Brian. She jumped down off the end of the porch to go and eat some grass. She refused to allow Brian to catch her since she really didn't feel she should go back in the house. Deirdre is usually extremely good about staying close to the house. So I had to go down the steps and get her. Now Sequoia was at the other end of the porch with her zip line caught so she couldn't get down the porch. I thought this was a good thing so I could grab Deirdre and get her back into the house and then release Sequoia.
So I get ahold of Deirdre and turn to go in. Sequoia had gotten herself untangled and was standing at the top of the steps. There was now no way for me to get into the house as the front door was locked. By the way for those that don't know...Sequoia being a true husky born and bred really feels that cats are best for lunch. Me being only 5'2" didn't want to risk walking past her with a cat in my arms. So Brian walked up onto the porch to take hold of Sequoia. When he did it happened....the horrible moment...the half a second you wish to whatever you could just take back....the....:eek: :eek: :eek: moment when you are holding just the end of the zip line with no dog attached.:eek: :eek:
There I am in the driveway holding onto Deirdre with Sequoia bounding towards us. I just knew that I had to hang onto Deirdre no matter what. That if she got away from me it could be disaster! I started to run with her for the pole barn but then realized that our darling Sequoia had lost interest in me and the cat and was racing away for the woods!:eek:
So I ran for the house instead...as my husband ran after Sequoia yelling her name. I got all the cats in the bedroom and shut the door then left the porch door wide open and called Sequoia. Hoping against hope that coming in the house would be better than running. Guess what...it wasn't. How silly of me to think it would be. Silly silly woman I am:o :rolleyes:
I won't give you all the tiny details. Lets just say that Sequioa spent an hour racing about the neighborhood. Through everyone's homes, through the woods, back and forth across the road, down one side of the mountain and through a stream, etc etc etc.
She snarled at the neighbors yellow lab, she attacked the fence that the other neighbor's dobie and rottie were in. She piddled everywhere she could, went up on everyone's decks. All with Brian and I behind her calling frantically. She would just look at us and run further. The more we went towards her the further she went. At one point when I was following her UP the mountain on the other side I realized this and gave up following. I went back to the car I was in at this point and she had followed me back down but still wouldn't go home! She had already lead Brian down the mountain on the other side. She went so deep into the woods it took him almost 30 minutes to make his way back. He was positive she was gone and we would never see her again.
In the meantime she had circled back to the houses and I was tracking her with the car hoping I could intice her into a car ride. After an hour of running in the heat she finally went up on the neighbor's porch who had the rooster she took down the last time she got away. Cindy the neighbor was able to take hold of her collar and we got her back.
My husband came walking back into the yard just as I was pulling with Sequoia in the back seat of the car. He was so relieved he just sat down and cried for a moment while Sequoia with her dirty muddy paws licked his face.
So we got her back...we have devised a safety line on the zip line so this shouldn't happen again. No one was hurt this time and no livestock were killed in the process. We were able to observe her meeting other larger dogs while not on a leash. I think we have pretty much established that she really doesn't like other dogs. Male huskies perhaps but that is it. She is a tough girl thinking she could take both a dobie and a rottie at the same time. Thankfully none of them thought about jumping the chest high fence.
I think this has pretty much discouraged me in adopting the male husky at a no kill shelter here in State College. He is a beauty but I think one husky is enough right now....:p
My husbands first words to me were.....your wearing your slippers.....duh...I was in the house baking...I wasn't planning on racing up and down the mountain chasing a dog through the woods.
Denyce
