Blue was on his morning walk this morning and what made it different was an opportune encounter with a cat.
Our morning walk before work was going as a normal walk, Blue was happy walking along the main road, then without any warning as we passed a house with an open driveway, Blue nearly pulled my arm out of the socket.
Regaining my composure, I pulled Blue up close to me, and grabbed his collar and scruff of his neck, to ensure he did not repeat the afore mentioned lunge.
As I released my grip, Blue was somehow free of his leash, the clasp was no longer attached to his collar, feeling no restraint, he then returned to search for whatever it was that had made him pull so violently in the first place.
Then without warning a cat ran from behind the car on the driveway and scarpered through a hedge, and with the scurrying of claws on paving stones, Blue re-appeared to disappear through the afore mentioned hedge, with only a glimpse of his hind legs and tail as he too went through the hedge.
So here I am 05:45am in the morning in the dark, and a lead in my hand but no dog attached, Blue was gone!
Next to the house is an alley way / footpath which leads to a cul-de-sac in our road, as I enter calling out "Blue" whistling, no other sounds could be heard, Blue and the cat had already vacated the alley and moved on to pastures new.
In my mind, I told myself he will come back soon, then my thoughts went to, how I am going to find him if he doesn't, the wife will go loopy, oh dear this is not good, this is not the first time Blue has got off a lead, but the first time he has fled. So I knew there would be no point in running to catch him, a German Shepherd in full stride with prey on his mind, is going to move at a rapid pace. My only hope was that he would either catch up with the cat or give up not too far away and be within ear-shot.
As I reached the end of the alley, a faint familiar sound could be heard, the chinking of his collar and name tag as he trotted along, walking out of the alley, my dear friend and companion Blue was happy to greet me like a long lost friend.
During the greeting and rewarding I re-attached his lead to his collar, we walked back up the alley and carried on with our morning walk.
Many things could have made the situation worse, but no-one or anything was hurt, injured or damaged, for that we are all relieved.
To date Blue has slipped one collar, broken one clasp on a extending lead and now escaped today, his weight and determination have played a big part in all three.
Upon returning home, I inspected the clasp on the lead, the spring gate, had lost its ability to fully close and hold fast, while pulling it was fine, but my grabbing him by the collar meant it was not under tension, so consequently slipped off.
Time for a new lead, and perhaps a more watchful eye on the spring tension clasp of other leads.
Tomorrow when we walk the same route, Blue will always look out for the pesky cat, and try a bit harder to catch it, he has a long memory, where cats are concerned.
Just as a footnote, his hot spot has now cleared up, but still his left ear has fur missing, his last visit to the vets on Friday resulted in much barking and demonstrating of his dislike for the vet, he has such an attitude with vets, we need to work on this.
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