The Faulty Carabiner and the Liberated Dogs

 The Day We Got Free

Clio and I had a thrilling time a few days ago. Or at least I did.

We were on a walk with just one attendant. He was using that funny system with the leashes, where my leash is strung inside the loop of Clio's leash so I pull in front, Clio follows and we keep in line. We look like a team of sled dogs. Sort of. The attendants thinks it makes us more controllable.

the sled dogs of Le Ripe

Our attendant had taken us a little further than our usual standard short walk (we have various levels of walk, ranging from short and dull to long and exciting, with the former being the customary choice). So we were in more fascinating territory than normal.

We don't know exactly what happened, but the carabiner attaching Clio's leash to her harness was faulty and came undone; at the same time my leash slipped inside her carabiner. So Clio was linked to me by my leash, but free of our attendant.

Which meant we were both free!

Never one to let an opportunity pass me by, I sloped off, as any self-respecting hound would, to explore the higher regions of a normally unexplored hillside. Clio came along too, since she was attached to me by my leash.

the unexplored hill, so tempting

Our attendant was shouting and imprecating and waving his arms but that was of no interest to me. I just kept my snout to the ground and enjoyed my freedom.

However, after a little while Clio lost courage. She's a bit of a cowardy-custard actually. While I was pulling her along she suddenly wriggled out of her harness and galloped away down the hill. Later I heard she joined our attendant and obediently went home with him.

Meanwhile, our attendant was getting panicky. He rang home to get reinforcements but then when Clio lolloped back to him he was so relieved he put the phone away to take care of her.

 Or so he thought. What actually happened was he dropped the phone. He only realized this when he returned to the scene of the crime to look for me again, having left Clio inside the gate at home. 

(Clio, as she does, started howling and barking at the gate, because even if she didn't want to stay with me, she misses me like crazy...)

Our other attendant had joined to help in the chase, although they both knew it was futile: once I'm free I like to enjoy my freedom for at least 90 minutes, if not a few hours. So now their focus was the phone. Luckily it eventually turned up in the middle of a path in a place my attendant swore he had not even gone to. Anyway. Humans can get pretty confused.

As usual, I eventually came back home. After all, home is where the hearth (inter alia) is. My other attendant came to whistle and call a few times and I scooted on by her on her first tries, just to show her I was safe but still having fun. In the end she caught my leash (which I had been dragging around for two hours). That was a pity; but I guess I let it happen accidentally on purpose. We dogs have our pride.

Ah, freedom...

I had such a great adventure on the hillside that day. 

Sadly, now they've found a different, 'safer' carabiner, the wretches...

the old carabiner (below) and the new carabiner (above)