[PyrNet-L] loose wolf

["Gerry Kemske" <kemske@wi.mit.edu>]

Well, I got up morning before last in a very bad frame of mind, swearing at little rescue Sugar, at Michigan Pyr rescue, big white dogs and even dogs as a whole, having had to get up twice in the middle night to take Sugar outside in 4 degree cold.  Twice she got restless, jumped off the bed, and began crying piteously at the top of the stairs.  Letting her out involves finding my bathrobe, which for some reason is kept in the spare room, with the lights out, stumbling down two flights into the basement and putting on boots coat and mittens, and then stepping out onto the frozen path that runs through a foot of snow in the back yard.  Each time I did this Sugar bolted down to the bottom of the fence, where the woods starts, and just ran back and forth.  The next morning, having slept about two hours total all night, I made a very grumpy  breakfast and got ready to take Travis for his walk.  It's 5:30 now, and still pitch black outside, so I take the huge maglight flashlight with me in one hand with Travis' leash wrapped around the other.  As we came to the little country road we walk along, Travis suddenly took off.  I barely saved myself from being dragged after him like an eskimo sled.  I wrapped the leash around my forearm and tried to pull him into a heel ­ what a joke.  The two of us careened headlong down the street, me just about falling down and trying to decide whether I should jettison the flashlight and use two hands.  As we hauled up at the ancient cape of our next-door neighbor, about a quarter mile away, Travis crashed to a stop and inserted his nose into the stone wall.  I looked around, waving the flashlight wildly, only to see the neighbor's wolf loose and standing on the wall watching us.  Yeeks!  Lucky I was so mad at Travis for bolting that I wasn't scared.  The wolf began to cry and then ran off with his tail between his legs.  I think his owner, who is subject to 'lapses' in personal behavior which seem to leave him out like a light for 24 hours at a time, had left the wolf chained outside a
to get free. It ran in back of its house and Travis and I continued on our walk, much slower now.  Travis had never noticed the wolf standing above him, or paid any attention as it ran back and forth crying in front of the house.  He was only interested in the smell!  When we came back later, the wolf retreated behind the house again, and then came out to watch us walk away.  I took the flashlight and saw the wolf's prints all around the fence in our back yard, so have forgiven Sugar for her vigilance.  But I would really like to yell at our neighbor!  This is the second time the wolf has gotten loose, and someone will no doubt report it one of these days (it's not legal to have pet wolves in Massachusetts).  The wolf was the opposite of aggressive, and his crying was terrible to hear.  Oh well ­ our neighbor has regained consciousness again and the wolf was securely on his chain last night, watching his master cook some nasty mess in the grill he keeps in HIS back yard.  Funny to see flames coming up in the woods behind his house with a foot of snow on the ground.  I hate to think what adventures people miss who live without Pyrs in their lives!