(just some rough notes)
my dog was a 'latch-key' dog, and would go off out at 7am every morning and come back... at some point.... in his last years, when my dad would say ben was going a bit senile (he seemed different recently), ben went missing (oh, it was horrible!) and we eventually found him at battersea dogs home. when he came home, i just had to take him out on the lead. however long we took, and wherever he wanted to go, it was fine with me. at some point, down a cul-de-sac, i had to sit on a high kerb and rest for a few minutes. there was an alley he seemed to want to go down, but it was getting dark and i didn't want to do that. so, we continued, and he went down the next cul-de-sac, and at about the same place (he was off the lead now), he disappeared into someone's garden and round the back. all the lights were off and he was gone for a while, and i considered just going home. i knocked on the door, and, soon, a little old lady came from around the side of the house and i explained that my dog had gone round the back. she invited me round, and when she saw ben, sniffing around the bottom of a tree, she told me that he had been going round her house for several years, and she'd wondered who he belonged to. she said she'd had a dog and that ben and she had been great friends, but she'd died a few months ago (and was buried under the tree). at some point, we left and walked home, not on the lead, but he walked beside me constantly, and there was a real feeling of communication. so that's where he used to go! i also learned that he used to make regular visits to the old people's home and the butchers - and god knows where else! a few months before he died i took him out at night for a short walk and this drunken young fella walked up to me. i was a little bit worried tbh, esp as ben could hardly walk by now. just as i was about to turn into mrs defensive, he said, "is that ben? oh my god! i've known that dog all my life". i didn't know who the hell he was! (sorry for the very long post there!)
my dog was a 'latch-key' dog, and would go off out at 7am every morning and come back... at some point.... in his last years, when my dad would say ben was going a bit senile (he seemed different recently), ben went missing (oh, it was horrible!) and we eventually found him at battersea dogs home. when he came home, i just had to take him out on the lead. however long we took, and wherever he wanted to go, it was fine with me. at some point, down a cul-de-sac, i had to sit on a high kerb and rest for a few minutes. there was an alley he seemed to want to go down, but it was getting dark and i didn't want to do that. so, we continued, and he went down the next cul-de-sac, and at about the same place (he was off the lead now), he disappeared into someone's garden and round the back. all the lights were off and he was gone for a while, and i considered just going home. i knocked on the door, and, soon, a little old lady came from around the side of the house and i explained that my dog had gone round the back. she invited me round, and when she saw ben, sniffing around the bottom of a tree, she told me that he had been going round her house for several years, and she'd wondered who he belonged to. she said she'd had a dog and that ben and she had been great friends, but she'd died a few months ago (and was buried under the tree). at some point, we left and walked home, not on the lead, but he walked beside me constantly, and there was a real feeling of communication. so that's where he used to go! i also learned that he used to make regular visits to the old people's home and the butchers - and god knows where else! a few months before he died i took him out at night for a short walk and this drunken young fella walked up to me. i was a little bit worried tbh, esp as ben could hardly walk by now. just as i was about to turn into mrs defensive, he said, "is that ben? oh my god! i've known that dog all my life". i didn't know who the hell he was! (sorry for the very long post there!)
