That was scary!

Furry Mama and number one furry absolutely adore the Pepper Pooch. Let's be honest, what's not to love about the little guy? He joined the Baggy household when the wonderful Minty Mutt died, over two-and-a-half years ago. When he arrived, as an 11-month old puppy, he was terrified of everything.

He'd never been in a house, or a town before, and would shake like a leaf, and try to run away from most things!

If he didn't get enough exercise and got bored, he would entertain himself by destroying anything he could lay his paws on; especially things that he knew would get a reaction from his mama.

He'd never seen snow before, and had had no training whatsoever, so if you let him off the lead, he disappeared over the horizon.

But once Calum and Furry Mama had spent some time training him in the indoor school where Wesley and Joey live, they discovered that he would do anything for a tennis ball.

Indeed, so obsessed was he with a tennis ball, that as long as Furry Mama or Calum had one with them, he would never leave their sides.

Then, a week before lockdown, the vet advised that his obsession was not healthy for Pepper's mental health, and was literally wearing his teeth away.

She recommended that Furry Mama wean him off tennis balls completely. And ideally, wean him off balls altogether when out on walks.

Now, Clever Bird was pretty worried about this idea because when the Pooch has a ball, she knows that she has total control over his actions. She wasn't at all sure how he would be without one.

Fortunately, Baggy's sister was staying in nearby Southwold with Pickle Dog that week, so it was easier than it might otherwise have been to wean him off a ball while they were at the beach.

Then lockdown started, and the beach visits stopped. 

More local walks allowed Pepper to be interested in new smells and sights, and after Baggy had been jumped on dozens of times but had still not got Furry Mama to produce a ball from a pocket, the Pooch finally decided to explore.

Then of course he cut his leg open, and for three weeks had a cone on his head, so when he was walked, he had to stay on the lead.

The result is that he no longer expects a ball when he's out for a walk. In fact he's become a proper dog who sniffs and explores and runs about doing his own thing. It's lovely to watch, and much better for Baggy's back, as she doesn't have to constantly bend down to pick up a ball. The lad's recall is absolutely brilliant as well - he comes back the moment he is called (unless he's in water, then he'll have a bit of a think about it first).

He's an odd lad though! He will decide that he doesn't want to be off lead anymore, and walk with his nose on the lead in Furry Mama or Calum's hand, until they put him back on it - even in the middle of a field or park! Consequently, it's sometimes easy not to be sure where he is, because he's walking literally just behind you.

This morning Calum didn't fancy going for a walk, so Furry Mama and Pepper headed off on their own. Clever Bird decided to do one of the local footpath walks, that avoids rivers, but has areas where the Pooch could have a good run. They walked through  the village up to the first off-road footpath where Pepper could go off lead. As usual, he wandered along, sniffing and eating grass, as Baggy admired the wildflowers. Furry Mama put him back onto the lead to walk through a housing estate, then let him off once more as they got to the next bit of rural footpath. Pepper followed on Baggy's heel, then ran on ahead to get to the large field he knew was round the corner. Something smelt good, so he stopped in mid-hurtle to sniff the grass; Furry Mama walked past him, safe in the knowledge that he never lets her out of his sight. A dog started barking just behind her, very loudly and fairly aggressively, so Baggy turned around to try to see where the dog was, and realised that Pepper was no longer behind her. Or next to her. Or in front of her. Or anywhere in sight at all. Furry mama wasn't worried because she knew that Pepper would come when he was called.

He didn't! Freda Fretter started to panic. There was absolutely no sign of him - anywhere. Furry Mama checked the two ditches nearby. No Pepper. Baggy ran back towards the housing estate - past a bemused looking greyhound, who stopped barking when she asked if he'd seen a black dog. Clever Bird ran over to a man who was washing his car. He hadn't seen a dog. Pepper was nowhere in sight, so she ran back to the field. Still no Pepper. By now Hormonal Hannah was having a full meltdown and tried to call Calum. No proper phone signal, so she could hear Calum, he clearly couldn't hear her, but after about five attempts, got the message that she'd lost Pepper, although she wasn't sure if he knew where she was. Baggy ran backwards and forwards up the field, by now crying like a numpty and convinced that Pepper must have been stolen, as he never lets her out of his sight. 

Clever Bird knows that if a dog runs off, it's best to stay where you last saw him, in case he comes back, but after another few minutes she decided to revisit the housing estate once again. She spotted a family in their garden, and asked if they'd seen a black dog - nope. They realised that Baggy was a little hysterical and offered to help her look, but Baggy asked if instead they would mind calling Calum, as she couldn't get through. As the chap dialed the number, Baggy heard a shout from further up the street, "Have you lost a black labrador?"

Baggy started to run, as she shouted thank you to the chap who was mid-phone number.

"Yes I have!"

Pepper was in the garden with a lady and her two young children. Two other women were on the pavement talking. Furry Mama forgot all social-distancing practices, as she clipped her lead onto a very shaky, panting Pepper, who was clearly distressed.

"Thank you so much. I was worried sick."

"Well, we caught him because we were scared he would get run over. We saw you with a lead and no dog."

"Thank you. I don't know what happened, but there was a dog barking, so I  think he must have got scared."

"Oh yes," said all three women in unison, "we know the one. It's very loud."

As an extremely relieved Furry Mama started to head home, Baggy was shaking as much as Pepper, who hauled her towards his safe place - home! Baggy was trying to call Calum again, as she spotted him practically jogging up the street towards them, looking almost as relieved as Furry Mama.

"Sorry Cal. I think that was one of the scariest twenty minutes of my life. I feel sick!"

Once home, Baggy collapsed on the sofa and was instantly joined by a rather subdued Pepper, who lay his head on her lap and promptly fell asleep. Furry Mama will not be walking the Pooch off lead for a while. Call Freda Fretter paranoid, but the thought of losing the Pooch is too much to bear! Sometimes she forgets that he is still an extremely anxious dog who can be scared by the smallest thing. He's come so far in the time that he's been Furry Mama's boy, that it's easy to forget that he often finds the world overwhelming. It occurred to Clever Bird once she'd calmed down enough to think straight, that perhaps when he's asking to be put back onto his lead, it's because he's feeling a little anxious.

The situation also wasn't helped by the fact that as Furry Mama tried to find him, Clever Bird knew that Pepper did not have a dog tag on his collar, as it had fallen off a while back and Furry Mama hadn't got around to replacing it. So as Pepper slept on her lap, Furry Mama got on her phone and ordered Pepper three new tags for his collars...

Baggy's current state!

Depression (Black = really bad/Grey = not great/Blue = okay/Yellow = sunny day): Yellow.
Anxiety (From 1 = barely any to 10 = gibbering wreck standard): 1.
Tears: Totally hysterical ones.
Overall days: Scary.

Note to readers: For the avoidance of any doubt, every character in this blog is Baggy! No Baggy was harmed in its writing, although some of them get pretty confused!