This is a story about the time Lacy saved the neighborhood.
We were out for our walk, a day like any other. Me, my wife, and my big dumb dog (she didn’t know she was a hero yet). We rounded one corner, waving happily at all the birds and the bunnies as we went.
Well, the bunnies ran in fear from Lacy, but being that they weren’t very smart bunnies, they ran 10 feet forward, in the same direction Lacy was heading. Once she got close, they’d repeat the process. Luckily for them, Lacy had whatever the opposite of a prey drive is.
Anyway, we’re rounding a corner a few blocks from home when I smell gas. I ask my wife to confirm, and she does. Sure enough, it smells like gas. I take a few steps into the street, and it seems to be coming from a specific house across the way. Yikes!
Neither Courtney nor I have our phones, so I decide to run back to the house to get mine and call 911. Here’s where things get a little hazy. For some reason, Courtney stood by near the gas leak, while I took the dog and ran home. I’m sure we had our reasons at the time.
I told Lacy it was a big hurry, so she ran at full pace… until we got down the street, where she passed her favorite yard and decided to stop for a frolic.
Let me back up.
Most of the time on Lacy’s walks, she would pass yards no problem. There were 3 exceptions: The yard bone house (I’ll link this once I tell thst story), and two yards that she would stop, roll around frantically, sploot out on her belly, and then stand up, shake herself off, and walk away with an entirely unearned air of dignity. Always the same two yards.
Anyway, we passed a Frolic Yard, and Lacy, heedless of my calls for urgency, decided it was a good time to stop and frolic.
I sighed, and urged her on. “Lacy, we’ve got to save the day! C’mon!”. She tootled after me. I left her inside, grabbed my phone and dialed. Of course, they wanted to know my location first, and I had forgotten to check the street sign (we were a little off our usual route). I took a guess, and confirmed it when I got close. I described the problem, and they asked us to evacuate the houses nearby. We did, and continued our walk while waiting for the fire trucks.
When they did arrive, one fireman got to the front lawn of the house in question and remarked “Oh yeah, I can smell it from here!”. I worry for him; we could smell it from across the street.
Lacy got lots of pets from the firemen, who quickly fixed the issue (the ground had shifted, causing a gas pipe to rupture), as well as the residents who couldn’t be in their house until it was resolved.
At one point, she tried to jump onto the back of the fire truck for a ride, and we had to explain that they typically take Dalmatians, not Labradors. She was sad, but recovered quickly.
Anyway, that’s a lot of words to describe the time when I smelled gas and ran home with Lacy… who decided it was a good time to roll around and frolic in the grass. Lacy!
Miss ya, pups.