Unbelievable Barry

In my last post I stated that there is no place like home especially when my husband is here. Little did I realize at the time that it is also not quite home without a couple other special creatures!

As most of you know we have two beagles on our ranch: Barry, who came with the house, is a male, and is a very well-mannered dog, and Babbs, who is a little over a year, a female, and who we've spent time training from a pup. Sunday when we finally arrived home we brought the dogs in the house (a special treat for all!) and Gil was so excited to see them he couldn't resist taking them for a drive. They went outside around 4ish and Gil started calling them back around 6:30. No dogs. That was strange for nighttime, but I didn't think much of it. They hunt a lot and always return before long. In the morning we called. No dogs. A little more strange. Gil went for a drive to look for them. No dogs. All day long as I am home, no dogs. Gil gets home in a furry about where they could be and goes out to look again. No dogs. Tuesday morning, no dogs. At this point we are at our wits end. They don't just forget how to get home. We figured they were either stolen or shot by some crazy person. I took a sign to hang up at daycare about them. I called neighbors about them. No dogs. We get home Tuesday afternoon and Gil sees a paw print. He runs to the barn. There is Barry, in his dog house in the barn. He picked him up and ran to the house. Barry looked terrible! He had a huge swollen neck and a little blood on his head. He could barely stand. We rushed him to the vet, got some pain meds and antibiotics, and were told it was probably a coon...

Right now he is in "recovery" on our back porch. He is still having trouble standing and moving, but has an appetite! He is in such bad shape. We just can't even believe he made it home. I wonder how long it took him to make the short trip. Two days it seems! I can't imagine his crippled little body hobbling home. I wonder where he even was. I really wonder where Babbs might still be!!

While we are still holding out hope of seeing Babbs again, we are in awe of our unbelievable Barry. And so glad he is back...feels a little more like home again.