All I had on my agenda was changing the duvet for the season. David helped me last time, but I was able to do the burrito change by myself without looking at the video. Yay! I rolled the duvet up, turned the ends inside out, and unrolled it, leaving the duvet lying on top of the cover. Reversing the procedure with lighter materials, I made the bed again. I wouldn’t be surprised if I took 1,000 steps going from one side of the bed to the other. I have only one sheet designated as Kacey’s cover sheet, keeping her fur from getting to the duvet. While it was being washed, I barricaded her from getting on the bed.

I felt I had done a good day’s work, not knowing that a crisis was about to unleash itself on me. Kacey asked to go outside. I hooked her to the line from the stake and retreated to the back porch to get out of the light drizzle. She didn’t seem to notice the rain and eagerly traced some animal’s scent. She suddenly froze in place, intently watching something on the street. In a split second she was running at full speed. It took a second for me to realize she was out of sight, leaving a broken collar and bent stake behind. I told Lise on the phone that I had to go quickly. I retrieved the collar and saw that the plastic catch was broken. On the way through the house, I picked up a leash and my rain jacket before stepping onto the front porch. To my utter astonishment, Kacey was standing in the front yard!! I was sure she would bolt as she did the last time, heading up the mountain. Joyce caught her that time. I called Kacey, and she immediately came to the porch. Whew!

I had to think ahead, though. She would need to go out again, and she had to be tethered. I texted David to ask if he had another collar here. He replied right away, saying he would go out and buy a collar if necessary. There wasn’t an extra collar, but he said there should be a harness on the porch. I fetched two, took a photo, and he suggested the easier one to use. Thank heavens he could write out directions for putting it on her! I sent another picture, and he said that was correct. When I looked at the photo later, I thought Kacey looked untidy with her fur disheveled. It’s certainly the way I felt!

As much as I wish we weren’t always connected to our phones, I certainly was happy that David was available to help me immediately.