I was roused from my sleep rather rudely at 8 am this Sunday morning. It was my neighbor looking for his wayward dog again. His German Sheppard is kept in the back yard, restrained by a 4 foot fence. This never made much sense to me since the dog is clearly capable of digging under or jumping over with ease. Yet, week after week his owner puts him back out there all day and most nights - by himself. Without human interaction or other dogs to play with. I know for a fact that my own dog is a bit of an escape artist as well. Yet, knowing this, I would never put her in the backyard unattended. Well, that and the fact that I had to pay $100 to get her back from animal control the one time she did get out. Lesson learned. I digress.

Dexter is a great dog; well behaved and lovable, he adores it when I catch him and take pity on him bringing him in my house until his owner returns home. He is too large to sit on my lap but he will try every time anyway. Which leads me to believe the poor pup is just starved for attention - hence the repeated attempts at freedom.

I experienced similar feelings in my marriage. Being couped up all the time and missing the basic warmth of loving interaction led me to run away a few times too. Why should Dexter be any different? I'm willing to bet he'd ask for a divorce from his owner and go off to find a better match. I feel for you boy.