Jack and I walked over to his house and rang his doorbell. His family has both parents that work and a couple older boys. As I stood waiting for them to answer the door, Jack ran around the corner. When no one answered the door, and Jack around the corner, I decided to just not worry about Jack. I was getting late for day camp. But, then I thought about if my dog (or kitty) were out, and ran away, how sad I would be. So, I turned around and called after him.
By this time, it was neigh on noon. I decided the easiest thing to be would be to put Jack in his backyard and call it good. So, like a good neighbor, I slipped their beloved dog in their backyard.
Friends and family, I wish the story ended there. But, just as I got Jack returned to his backyard and began closing the gate behind me, I saw another black lab with white on his chest already in the backyard. Yes, take a moment to process the fact that I just returned a lost dog to someone's yard that had NOT lost one! Imagine my horror of wondering if the dogs were going to fight. Imagine my horror of wondering if the teenage boys were really in their house laughing at me. Imagine my over all horror of the whole situation!
Well, the other dog, NOT Jack, liked running circles in this new place he had been introduced to. He liked eating Jack's food. And the real Jack was so excited to see me he almost knocked me over time after time. My arms were covered with scratches from him jumping on me. The other dog had no collar and I had no idea how far I could push him to leave the yard without him possibly biting me. Honestly, by this point I was near tears. I had no idea what to do to get this dog out of the yard without accidentally letting the real Jack out. And, don't forget: I was now late for Cub Scout camp! I finally said a prayer and had some loud words for Heavenly Father.
The Fake Jack finally ate all off Jack's food and decided it might be fun to chase me out of the yard.
The moral of the day: Find out if your neighbor needs help before you offer it!
