~~The Lady's Leap

Hi, I'm lady. I used to be known as Maury and Arty's Heart of Treachery, but a lot has changed. I gave up racing after an injury and eventually found a forever home with my cousin Prince. He's over there, lounging about. It's been a little weirder than usual around here lately. It all started a couple days ago. We were having some mid morning playtime when....

***

There was a smell of fear in the wind. I used to find that scent to be intoxicating, but now it only causes me anxiety. "Prince, do you smell that?"

"Yes, Lady. Something's wrong. Very wrong."

Prince usually drops all pretenses and silliness when things are really bad, so I knew I wasn't imagining it. We were out in the yard for some playtime, but fun was the last thing on our minds just then. We sniffed the wind, pacing, trying to see what was wrong. It wasn't long before we heard the crying of a little one. It was very faint, but we heard it. "what do we do?"

"Lady, we have to get out there and see what's wrong. Someone needs us. I'll try to get Mom's attention."

With that, he ran to the back door and leaned on it. Scratching it with his paws and thumping it with his tail. I looked around the yard. When my eyes lingered a second too long on the bird bath, I had my plan.

"Prince, I'm going over the fence!"

I went to the farthest corner of the yard. I could still hear the little one's crying and taste fear on the breeze. Time slowed as I entered racing mode. The soft grass beneath my feet was cool. My muscles tensed while anticipation built. Semi-forgotten memories welled up inside me as I launched myself forward. I could see each blade of grass bending in the breeze. Bee's wings beat slowly as I accelerated through the yard. My vision narrowed and the birdbath filled my eyes. Three strides. Four. Five. Running faster than I ever had before, I launched myself skyward. I stretched out as far as I could, the sheer joy of speed and flight electrifying every fiber of my being. My front paws touched the rim of the birdbath. I could feel the grainy cement, cold and sturdy as I applied all my strength towards the goal of bringing my back legs into position. When they, too, found purchase I lunged upward once more in an arc intended to carry me up and over the fence around our yard. The birdbath toppled with impossible slowness behind me. Time lost all meaning as I neared the top of my flight. The tops of the wooden fence were looming like mountains before me. I could see with startling clarity the rough texture of the pointed fence rails. I could hear the rushing of wind over the thunderous beating of my own heart and Prince's plaintive rooing behind me. I could smell the fresh cut grass of the adjacent yard tinged, still, with the child's fear. I began, at long last, to descend. I could feel in my very bones the impact of my back paws on the fence tops as I barely cleared the fence. My shoulder cried out briefly as I landed, but I ignored the brief flare of pain as I, and time, once again accelerated to full speed.

I saw the child as I topped the small hill. It was a little girl with a dirty, tear-streaked face. She was wearing a little yellow dress and carried a stuffed animal in her hand. I skidded to halt a few feet in front of her, the dirt and grass flying around me as I stopped. Her eyes widened and she began to back away. I quickly laid down on the ground, panting from the exertions that brought me to her. I roached and let my tongue loll out the side of my mouth in my best Prince imitation. This did little to reassure her, so I got up and bounded playfully around her. I chased my tail and did every goofy thing I could think of. She stopped crying and let me approach her. She reached her chubby little hand out to me and put it on my head. I licked the salty tears from her face and she giggled a little. I nuzzled her and leaned gently against her so she would know that I wanted to be friends. She put her hand on my collar and I slowly began to try and lead her away. It took a couple tries but eventually she held on and we made our way slowly back the way I came.

***********

Prince had steadily thumped his tail on the sliding glass doors. He rooed and scratched and made enough noise to get Mom's attention. Mom, annoyed, opened the door and began to ask what the problem was when she saw the birdath on its side. She had barely registered my disappearance when Prince rocketed past her to the front door. There he whined and thumped and barked until Mom followed him. She had leashed him up and grabbed the game call she kept there for just this purpose. Prince all but dragged her out of the house and in the direction I had gone. He kept rooing to let me know they were coming. As goofy as Prince can be, he sure can come through in a pinch.

I kept kissing the little girl and leading her in the direction of Prince's roos. She was still a little unsure of all the noise, but seeing Mom and Prince made her light up a little. Mom, thouroughly astonished at the sight of the little girl, began to run with Prince for all she was worth. It didn't take long before they were both beside us.

"What's your name, sweetie? Are you lost?"

"Uh huh."

"Do you know where your house is?"

"nuh uh." Little tears began to form as Mom took out her cellphone and dialed a short number.

"Hi, I found a lost little girl." She turned to the girl and once again asked her name. "Her name is Carly Adams. She is about 4 years old and doesn't know her address. I'm near the intersection of Elm and Oak streets. Yes, I'll wait for officers to arrive." She turned to Carly and told her not to worry, she would be home soon. We passed the time, Prince and I, by letting Carly tug our ears and play with our tail and rub our tummies. Carly was a natural-born tummy rubber.

It wasn't very long at all before a police car arrived with a very frantic lady. She ran over to Carly, snatched her up and alternated between tears, kisses and thank yous. "We're just moving in and Carly must have wandered away while we were carrying boxes in. I can't thank you enough, I've been sick with worry!" It turns out the little girl had walked over 2 blocks away from her house and had obviously gotten lost. Eventually, the police took Carly and her mom home. I followed Mom and Prince to our house. It wasn't until hours later that Mom realized she hadn't even brought a leash for me.

***

They next day Dad came home with a stack of newspapers. Prince thought maybe they were for him to shred, but they were really for Dad to read out loud to the family.

Rescued Rescuers Come to the Rescue

Two local Greyhounds, (pictured above with the Bo, the reporter's very own greyhound) recently returned the favor by righteously rescuing a lost little girl. Young Carly, seen playing with the tremendously talented track hounds, wandered away from her brand new home and got lost. Police were alerted but not before the canine super sleuths did some greyhound detective work of their own. Lady, who had never previously tried to escape her backyard, performed some seriously awesome aerobatic antics while her partner Prince precipitously alerted his family.

Prince and Lady tag-teamed a truly heartwarming tale of doggy derring-do. While Lady leaped over a fence to find the fearful female, Prince promptly led his owner towards the little gal who was already alongside her goofy greyhound guardian. Once the cops were called and Carly's mom made it to the scene, the tearful reunion tugged at the heartstrings of one and all. Officer Krupke said that while he's seen some seriously strange sights in his service, this was a new one on him. "Quick thinking by the hounds and the owner made sure the ordeal was over almost before it started. The department is considering a special award for the dynamic duo."

"The gate was firmly latched and locked from the inside," said Lady's loving owner, "other than the gate and the sliding glass door there's no way to enter or exit the yard. The birdbath was toppled over and my greyhound girl was missing. The only possible explanation is that she jumped over that fence. How she managed the speed and strength to get over that 6 foot fence, I don't know, but I'm grateful and more than a little amazed at what our hounds did!"

Carly's mom was extremely eloquent in her excitement and elation to be reunited with her daughter. "I don't know what drove those dogs to find Carly or how they did it, but I'm very grateful to have her home safe. Carly has made me promise to bring her over to play with Prince and Lady, who are now our two favorite dogs in the whole world!"

The local greyhound rescue has already planned to proudly and prominently picture the pups on their website. You don't have to tell this reporter how great greyhounds can be, but there's certainly a new family in town who now know just how terribly terrific track hounds are!