I’ll cut to the end of the chase. Bebe was found. But that was not before we called the girls who live up front (and who have an ATV they like to drive around) and enlisted their help, stopped in at Mrs. S’s to alert her, called the vet, and left this note for the mailman (my phone # under the sticky).

I was grocery shopping in town. Daughter C had let Bebe & Gil out for their morning constitutional. Bebe became very afraid of the noise associated with the new roof folks and ran and ran and ran away.

I got a frantic call from C.

We all– Rocky, Missy, Gil, Daughter C & I, and Little Caroline and Savannah, and their friend on the ATV, and Mrs. Sappington– we all looked and looked for Bebe.

I called the vet’s office to put them on alert. I was just getting ready to call the sheriff’s office when there– two hours later!!– was Daughter C walking up the driveway with a sopping wet Bebe in her arms.

Best as we can reconstruct, Bebe was last seen being very fearful in the side yard. She must have run down under the downed Hickory tree to the creek on the west side of the over grown pasture. The big dogs did seem to focus some attention on that area.

From there she may have run down to the bigger creek between the hidden pasture and the cotton field, and followed it down toward the road, behind DeWayne’s house.

That’s about where Daughter C found her, splashing in the creek.

Bebe is a real sweetie but I have to say, “Stupid Dog.” You made my daughter cry. Bad dog!

“Marica?”

“Yes, Missy?”

“I am getting too old for this nonsense. And mind you, I am trying to discipline that little thing. And I thought I, with the help of My Dear Friend and that Long Haired Hippy dog, were doing a fine job of it. And now this! I cannot abide seeing the grief that little monster had caused my Sister, C.”

“RUFF!!”

“Ha. If you don’t mind my saying, Missy, that’s rich.”

“ruff.”

“Beg pardon?”

“You were not a model puppy.”

“rrruuufffff!!!”

“Well! I never!”

“Oh. Sure you did.”

“RUFF!”