Run Free

OBSERVING NATURE

Paul has had this idea for a long time.  Let Liam run free as fast as he wants in an enclosed patch near our
house. As if he were Lassie -   Lassie was always off leash, ran free and came home.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lassie_%281954_TV_series%29
Nowadays dogs do not run free and do not come home.
We headed over to our town park knowing that dogs are not allowed in but figuring one run for Liam would be worth the risk of being chased.   It was Monday, May 30, 2011, Memorial Day.  All gates to the little park were closed and padlocked. I mean with locks and chains that looked medieval.  No way in, except under.  One of the gates was a bit warped and the space underneath was about 10-12 inches. I knew Paul expected us to go under.  I lay down on my back, Good thing when you are prone is that all body parts fall to the side except for the nose, So I turned my head to the right and pulled myself under. Paul then handed me Liam's leash and Liam went under. No problem for Liam as he is one quarter doxie with a long low back and can go into hot dog mode easily.  Paul got under also.  Now we are inside.  We can do the Liam running free experiment.   Paul walked to the end of the strip. I held on to Liam. Then Paul yelled okay, let him run free.  And wow, he did.

RUNNING FREE TO PAUL OFF LEASH

  He reached Paul and then I called him. Nothing. A rollover.

AFTER ONE RUN

He stood statue still.

I HAVE TO RUN BACK? ARE YOU KIDDING?

I began walking towards him.   Now I am halfway. I call him again. "Liam come home" He runs to me.

OKAY, HERE I COME

And that was that.   He walked over to the nearest tree, stretched into a sit, yawned and the run was over.

UNDER THE TREE AFTER RUNNING FREE

Paul commented, "I thought he would run back and forth until he was exhausted. He would feel so good and so wild and free."  Maybe he did feel good.
As we leashed him and walked to our exit crawl space, a Security truck spotted us and began its trip around to check us out. I was mortified- we are adults who snuck into a private park on Memorial Day, a sacred day.  The truck would have to take a while to make its way to us because it was locked in just as we were. We slid under quick.  I told Paul "Do not  make eye contact with anyone. Just keep your head down till we get away." Whew.  An adventure, Yes, but more for us and less for Liam.
Liam seemed delighted to be  home and in the back yard.

WOW, GLAD THAT RUN IS DONE, YAWN

He is part of our pack. We do not run around, neither does he.

Woof, Woof