We lost Chance on the final leg of our journey from Oklahoma to Alaska. In the morning we would let the car warm up. It was -30 to -40 degrees by this time. We would pack the car, let it warm up, then we would go have breakfast. Even though we had it on 'kid lock', Chance stood on the controls on the driver's side. He rolled the window down and jumped out. We looked for a long time, but had to get on the road because Husband had to sign in at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks. There were ravens the size of small chickens flying around everywhere. We saw Artic Fox darting through the woods. So we really thought we would never see him again.
Six days later, on Thanksgiving night, the owners of the hotel called. They had found Chance. We drove six and a half hours back to Beaver Creek to get him. We had lunch (I remember it was a cream based soup in a bread bowl....this was the first time I had ever seen soup served in a bread bowl!) Then we drove the six and a half hours back to Fort Wainwright. His nose and ears were a tad frost bitten. But he was alive and very skinny. He survived a week in the wilderness of the Yukon Territory. He would not leave Husband's side for a very long time after that.
He was always more like a dog than a cat anyway. He would come to the garage door when he heard the garage door go up. He loved a good piece of fresh spinach! If he heard you opening a bag of salad, he would come running from wherever he was in the house. He would stand at your feet more howling than meowing. If you didn't throw down a piece quick enough, he would start to paw your leg.
We kept for six years after this. Two moves after Alaska, we were going to the East bay of San Francisco. We could only take one pet, so we found a home for him. (We took Josie.) He now lives with a young Lieutenant. It was her first time to be away from home. She needed a pet that was a little older. It worked out the best for both worlds!
Josie is a French Bulldog. Some confuse her for a pig....a little neighbor boy in OK put it best: "She snorts like a pig, she looks like a pig," She must be a pig......but no, she is our little Frenchie. We got her when we were dating. She is our first little baby girl!
One of the few negative things about a French Bulldog, or any snub nosed dog for that matter....is the gas. She can pass some gas or fluff or toots, or whatever you want to call it. But it will make your toes curl. I swear when she is lounging here in the living room while I am kicked back with the laptop, she looks ever so cute snoring over in the corner. Then some smell like no other wafts over in your direction. Dang, makes a girl keep a can of Febreeze air effects near by!!
Happy Thursday, y'all
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