Elston's Big Adventure

I may be 14 years old, blind (my glue-coma [sic] got really bad), and mostly deaf, but that's not going to stop me from having a good time.

I was out in our yard the other night when I noticed that the wind had blown the gate open. I wandered out to the sidewalk, sniffed around, and decided to go explore my neighborhood. Carpe diem! Or carpe noctis? I wondered down the street and encountered all kinds of interesting smells (my nose still works pretty well). Naturally I headed in the direction where I could smell food far in the distance, and with the all of the dogs marking the sidewalk every day, it was easy to find my way and avoid being in the street.

When I finally got to the area where the local restaurants are, I was totally bummed to find them all closed! If they'd been open at 1am, I'm pretty sure I could have scored all kinds of treats by just sitting in the doorway and using the good ol' head tilt (works every time!). 

So I ventured on, and found a nice park to explore. Lots of interesting scents from eagles, rabbits, squirrels, and from the beach below. I was getting pretty tired since it was waaaay past my bedtime, so I found a nice sheltered spot under a bush to take a nap. I was starting to miss my comfy home and my family. And food. I was really, really missing my food.

A few hours later I woke up to the sounds of chirping birds. I'd been out all night! I wandered around the park for quite a while, partly because it was interesting, but also because I'd kinda gotten lost (and beagles never ask for directions).

Eventually I reached the road again and continued my way along the sidewalk. I was checking out a front yard when a strange lady suddenly started to pet me. She seemed nice, but she wouldn't let me leave. Then I heard her talking on the phone and she mentioned my name! 

A few minutes later Mom and Dad showed up. I was so happy they had come to get me, and they were very relieved that I was okay (not a scratch on me). They said I'd been out for 16 hours and was over 1.5 miles from home! It had been a big adventure, and perhaps a little too big for an old beagle like me.