Little Elsa, the rescue dog, has been with us for five months. And even with wide open spaces and acres where she can run, we have been walking her on a leash. It was our fear since we did not know her background, that she would run away or disappear into the woods and be hurt or lost. We love her now too much to risk losing her to a taste for freedom.
But we have had dogs here before. Two Golden Retrievers (Peaches and Carrie), Rudy (a misunderstood Pit Bull) and Rozie, our other mixed breed love, who all lived to old age. None of them ever required leash control on home ground since we have ample space right here for long country walks and little traffic to worry about.
One day Bill and I knew it was time to finally set Elsa free to stretch her legs and run with the wind. Removing Elsa’s leash was a terrifying move for all three of us.
Elsa could not believe her luck when the door opened and there was nothing holding her back.
And out she went – running and running and sniffing and sniffing. Oh no! Will she love freedom too much to return?
Out of sight she went with us
calling and calling
and so worried for her safety.
And suddenly,
THERE SHE WAS!
And suddenly
she tore off again, running and running and free!
And THERE SHE WAS
walking in sight of us without a leash!
And again, running and running
and exploring the world.
And finally she was walking with us
and met us at our door.
Home!
All three of our hearts are swelling with pride and love. We have all seen and felt the utter joy of freedom in the shape of a little rescue dog who has probably never felt it before.
It’s a wonderful story. Now, if only we could get some parents to allow their children a little freedom to run, too.
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You rock, Elsa!!
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Such a sweet story!
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Thanks for this post Dora because we are just the same and we have had Koko for almost 3 years now. Like you, terrified that if we let him off the lead he would not come back However, there are no fields as such here only plots of land belonging to Greek people. So his walks are mostly on the road. There is a track down to the sea where other dog get but sometimes they are loose so we are never sure how wild they are. Anyway Elsa obviously Elsa loves you and she has proved it. Great !!
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I am happy for all three of you!
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Awww I love this post Dor—knowing you I suspect she and thee are perfect together 😊
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We were of the same concern with Ben. Freedom, worth the wait. Now he roams ahead, back to check on us, off again. Loves chasing his shadow in the early and late sunlight. Not too bright as it always stays ahead of him. lol
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It took us months to feel able to let our Wren run free, too. So glad Elsa now has such a loving and stress-free home. ❤
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Not crying, just got something in my eye. It is so wonderful to see an animal enjoy freedom for maybe the first time ever. Taking one out of cage is like that too. Yesterday new cat Sasha was introduced to our screened porch. It was so scary and exhilarating for her. She’d run out, check out a squirrel, turn around and run back to the safety of the house. Finally after several hours, she sat down and took a nap out there. Warmed my heart that she could get some fresh air yet be safe. I could feel Elsa’s excitement in your story. *need tissue for thing in eye* BTW if you worry too much, you can get a GPS gizmo for her collar but I think you all have gotten over the big step.
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I’m happy sweet Elsa can run free. You know, Elsa’s adventures would make a great children’s book, Dor…hint, hint!
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Now that’s a fact. I remember being sent out to play and only had to return at the call for dinner. 🙂
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She does think she’s the pack leader…. 🙂
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Thanks Kathy. She is a sweet pup.
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The joy of a dog bounding and free always makes me laugh out loud.
Neither dog nor joy can be contained.
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Yes, I was so proud of Elsa yesterday but today she ran too far…. waaaaay down the slope where we could not go and she could no longer hear us calling. She did find her way back but now we are confused. Life is not dull in this house for sure.
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Thanks Cindy. Life is so sweet when you can add a creature you grow to love and who loves you back unconditionally.
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We have our little stumbling blocks but the connection keeps getting stronger.
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We are still not completely confident but the signs are there. She may turn out to be like Ben! But today she went far far down the slope where she couldn’t hear us. She found her way back though and is now completely wiped out.
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Wren is in a good place for sure. We are still working with Elsa but she has all the signs of being happy in her new home.
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Sasha must know her new home is the Safe Place. To go to sleep in that scary porch is all the evidence you need. Elsa is over the moon about being let loose and although she came right back yesterday, today she went nuts and ran down an enormous slope out of earshot. I had a whistle but that got no response either. She finally came back up, saw us and went back down again and eventually back home. She is completely exhausted now and sleeping at my feet. May have to get her a warning collar. I won’t use a shock, but maybe that will give her some boundaries. What next huh?
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Jill, somehow you keep penetrating my consccience about writing a children’s book. I will be thinking about that. Elsa would be a good main character huh?
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What a lovely comment and thank you for visiting my blog!
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So! Many! Sniffs!! I can feel her joy from here!
like you, I’d be anxious about her going too far off – is she micro-chipped? If not, good idea to do so just in case she takes a really long meandering just a lil too far, our Vet provided it for a small fee and then there’s an annual monitoring fee that was also nominal. Frankie never left the yard, even the front yard, and why would he? He had it far too good …
Hugs and happiness! 🙂
MJ
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Most definitely!
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Me, too. And after dinner, we could play until the street lights came on.
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Write the book Dora!
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Oh to run free, she must have been nervous and exhilarated at the same time. I am glad she came back though. She must love and trust you now. 🙂
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Oh yes, Dor. Write that book. We have a series here about Hairy Maclary by Lynley Dodd. He and his canine friends have so many winderful adventures. Oh there is also a cat, Slinky Malinky who doesn’t always win. I do know the books are available worldwide. Maybe your library has a couple of them.
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Wonderful 🙂
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“The Tale of Elsa” is wonderful. The way you described your feelings as you allowed her to run free and the wait for her to return was really suspenseful! Congratulations; I think you have a new lifelong friend.
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Ah! Freedom! I had no idea what was involved in letting a dog go out the door alone. I’m so glad you wrote about it. As we drove by your area yesterday, I wished I could see y’all and meet Elsa.
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Thanks Emjay! We are still working on establishing boundaries for freedom loving Elsa. She is micro-chipped and listed with our vet. She is also in love with her new home so I know she will always come back. It’s just that if she goes too far out of range we are afraid she will get into trouble, get lost or hurt.
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I too think Elsa loves us and knows this is home and safety now. But there is that call of the wild out there. Today a herd of deer went by accompanied by about 10 turkeys. And I’m sure there are the scents of possums, bob cats, racoons, rabbits, skunks, foxes, coyotes and even bears! No lions even though the “Lions and Tigers and Bears” lyrics come to mind.
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It is a good idea but I think if I was meant to write a book I would already be doing it. I love the idea of doing it though and thank you for your ideas and inspiration.
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Now Anne, the next time you wander in this vicinity I want you to stop at our house for a visit! Waving over the internet just doesn’t do it.
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You are right, Dor. I don’t know when our next trip will be, but I’ll be in touch.
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This post brought back memories of a rescue dog we got years ago. About three or four days after we got him, he managed to escape from the house. I can still remember him running, then stopping in a neighbor’s yard and just standing there for about 30 seconds. He then turned around and slowly came back to our house. At that point I knew that he’d decided our house was home.
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Oh, I wish Elsa would do that. We have her back on leash but trying to figure out next moves.
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Oh bless, love her. Such a sweet story ❤
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Oh she is so sweet most of the time. But how does the rhyme go? “When she was bad she was horrid.”
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😂😂 Bless her ❤
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