A note from Savannah...

 Momma keeps asking me Where Were You Savannah Where WERE You?! and I look at Momma and try to make her Understand that if I knew Where I Was then I would have just Come Back Home after those Big Noises stopped and I wouldn't have been Gone at all.

I knew I was Lost as soon as I Stopped Running that Night after the Big Boom happened and I thought the Sky Was Falling because of all the Colors dripping down from The Clouds. And then Momma fell to the Ground and I don't think She Got Up Too Quick because I was Running Running Running and Momma wasn't saying Come Here Savannah Come Here so I just Kept On Going till I couldn't Go anymore and that's how I really Learned what Lost means.

There were Other Dogs out there in the Woods and they weren't Nice Dogs because a few of them Growled At Me as soon as they Heard me and didn't even Give Me A Chance to Explain why I was in Their Woods in the first place. Momma would have called them Hoodlum Dogs because they Don't Know How To Play Nice. One of those Dogs laughed at me and said I was Dragging a Rope and I told him that it was My Blue Leash and he said Girl Call It Whatever Fancy Word You Want But It's Just A Rope.

Then another Dog saw my Little Pink Heart with my Name and Momma's Number on it and that Dog said that I'd Be Losing That Tag Soon and then I'd Be Just Like Them-- On My Own and Doing Whatever I Wanted To Do. Well I tried to Explain that What I Really Wanted To Do was Go Back Home because Momma needed Company for Walking and Daddy needed me for The Dog Park and Sweet Pea liked to Sleep In My Bed and if I didn't Get Back Home then that Cat would just be Taking Over My Bed and Mickey was probably Waiting to Slap My Nose just because he's So Little and Thinks he always has to Prove That He's a Real Cat and besides that the Cats Were There First and a Cat is a Cat That's Always Been That.

Those Hoodlum Dogs didn't Have a Clue what I was Talking About so I left them when they Went To Sleep because they Didn't Care About Me anyway and they Didn't Even Know what Lost meant so I just Kept On Going. My hair was picking up those little Sticky-Burrs that Momma was always Pulling Off when I was Home and then she would Put Her Hands On Her Hips and tell me Savannah You Are One High-Maintenance Puppy With All That Long Hair of Yours and I knew that if Momma saw me now with the Dirt and Sticky-Burrs All Over Me she would be Putting Her Hands On Her Hips for the Rest Of Her Life. And another thing I Learned while I was Gone was that if Momma ever saw all the Animals and Bugs and Crawling Things in the Woods she would Never Come Out Of The House Again.

I don't know How Many Days I Was Lost because One Day is the Same As The Next One especially out here in Momma's Country Bubble but I was getting Tired and Hungry and Lonely and once You've Had a Family and a House and Bowls of Food and Water this Lost-In-The-Woods thing just Doesn't Cut It no matter What the Hoodlum Dogs say.  And then the Woods had Rain and Thunder and Lightning and I had to Find A Place to Hide that Wasn't Too Dirty but that was the Trouble-- Everything Was Too Dirty and it was Getting Hard to look like a Lady Dog and Momma wouldn't have Been Too Happy with how I Smelled.

I ate a Lot of Grass and Bluebonnets but right after eating them I threw them All Up and the Pile of Mashed Bluebonnets didn't look So Pretty and then I started eating Whatever I Found that was Crunchy but that was Hard To Do after all that Rain we had. I just kept Walking and Hiding and Walking and Hiding and pretty soon the Woods started to Smell Like Home so I Walked Faster and Didn't Hide So Much Unless I Heard The Coyotes and before too long I saw our House at the top of the Hill. Our House! Those big old Columns that Momma says the birds love to build nests on, and the big old Porch that Momma says attracts every bit of Dust like a Magnet so I kept Running and Running and Running and then I flew up the back steps of our house and Planted Myself Up Against The Back Door and wouldn't you know it-- my Blue Leash got caught in the Steps of the Porch and even if I did want to Go Anywhere there was No Way for me to Get Loose.    

And then after a Minute I saw Daddy's car coming up the Road and then Up our Driveway and then Momma and Daddy got out and Daddy was Crying and Yelling She's Home! She Came Home! and Momma was crying too and saying Savannah Baby Girl You Found Your Way Home!  I just sat there trying to Look Cute instead of Looking Dirty and Momma said Oh Just Look At All The Sticky-Burrs On You and next thing I knew Momma had my Brush in her Hand and she was getting all those Burrs off of me and she didn't even Stop to Put Her Hands On Her Hips.

Then Momma's friends came to the House and I Wagged My Tail and Sat Down and Momma was Brushing Me and Everybody said Well Where Have You Been Savannah and that's the First Time I tried to say Well If I Knew Where I Was Then I Would Have Been Able To Get Home A Lot Faster but I don't think they Understood me because Most of Them were Crying. Miss Judy was there with Bella and that Little Dog was Looking All Cute and Clean and she Sniffed me and told me that I Smelled Like The Woods. Well where did Bella think I had been for twelve days? At a Spa?  And Miss Cindy was there but she didn't Bring Jack with her but that's Probably because Jack would have tried to Bury me because I smelled so Bad.

When I finally got into the House I drank some Water and then Momma quick got the Mop and cleaned up my Splashy Mess and then Momma said that her Kitchen Floor had been Clean for the Last Twelve Days but she could Kiss That Goodbye and then she Gave me a Big Hug and started to Cry. Then Daddy was giving me BBQ brisket and Macaroni And Cheese and Chicken and Bagels With Lox and telling me It's Good To Have You Home Savannah We Missed You So Much and I just Sat There trying to Look Pitiful so Daddy would Keep On Feeding Me.

Everybody went to Sleep early that Night because I was Exhausted from all that Running and all those Nights Without My Bed and Daddy said that he must have driven One Thousand Miles looking All Over for me and Momma said she now has More Gray Hairs Than She Needs and they both said I was One Lucky Puppy because not only did I Find My Way Back Home but I have More Friends Than A Lot of Other Lost Puppies.

I had to ask Sweet Pea to Get Out of My Bed when I Got Home but I asked him Nicely and tried not to be like one of those Hoodlum Dogs who Don't Know How To Share. I sat in my Bed and looked up at My Momma and she was Crying Again and telling me that she Didn't Know What she would have done if I hadn't Come Back. I tried to Explain to Momma that she Should Have Known I'd Come Home because I am Savannah Savannah Savannah and I Know Who Loves Me and I Know Where I Belong. It just took Longer Than I thought it would To Get  Back Here and I hope those New Neighbors Across The Road have Learned a Good Lesson about Fireworks.

Every time Momma walks by me now she Holds My Face between her Two Hands and she tells me Savannah Grace This House Sure Wasn't The Same Without You In It.  I just look at Momma and I try not to let her see that I'm thinking Well I Hope You Remember That When I Get Water On The Floor Or Go Splashing In Rain Puddles and then I Remember how Lonely it was In The Woods without my Momma Taking Me For Walks and my Daddy Taking Me To The Dog Park and Sweet Pea Sleeping In My Bed.  I even missed Mickey Kitty slapping me on my Nose and I hope Someone has taught that Outside Cat some Manners while I was Gone.