Any port in a storm

Last night, we had the biggest electrical storm come through my area which coincided rather unfortunately with the same night that my sister had made plans to go to QPAC at Southbank to see My Fair Lady. Around 6pm or so, I received a stricken phone call from my sister saying that one of the dogs had gotten out (a lovely lady had called the hotline number on her microchip registration tag) and could I go over and make sure that both of them were okay. Of course, my first thought was only of the dogs given that the one in question is quite elderly and is usually petrified of storms. So I flew out of the house with my other half….leaving all the windows open and of course both computers still on because we just dropped what we were doing at the time and left.

When I got to my sister’s place 20 minutes later, I couldn’t hear any barking so I was quite worried that both of them had gotten out. But there was Mischa lying calmly in her kennel. I let her inside and called Mindy but no little silky terrier came to greet me. I thought perhaps the lady might still have her at her place but a short walk down the street in the drizzle confirmed that she had already returned her home and that she must have gotten out again. Ordinarily, I would not think of going out walking in the dark let alone in an electrical storm but I needed to find her so I sent my other half off driving in the car while I walked in the rain, calling for her every so often.

Half an hour later, I’d met about 20 new cats but no little Mindy. I was determined not to go anywhere without finding her so I just kept plodding along, even though the rain was getting increasingly heavier and the lightning frighteningly close by. Thankfully, I got another phone call saying that she had found another home to shelter in and that she would hold onto her until I got there. Even better, thanks to my new phone, I had GPS and a map so I could easily find the house even in the dark. Poor little thing, she was bedraggled and scared stiff but she had made herself at home on an old crate and some blankets while waiting for me to get there. I couldn’t thank the home owners enough for offering her shelter for the short time she was there because I knew that company and protection was all she was after. As soon as my other half picked me up, she was happy as larry and back to her usual self.

It is reassuring to know that there are still lovely people out there who are willing to accept a stranger’s pet into their homes in order to make sure they are okay until their owners can collect them. And how grateful am I that I convinced my auntie (the dog’s owner) to microchip her when she moved down here recently. Without having the microchip details clipped to her tag, we may not have found her so quickly.