Not Without Your Queen

Daisy was the queen of the house. This miniature schnauzer did not run to meet you at the door like other normal canine “companions.” Oh no! She waited for you to come and look for her. We should have been excited to see her lying there on the stair landing, close enough to see who was coming in the house, but far enough away to indicate her indifference. While other dogs jumped and leaped, and licked, and lapped bestowing all the love a dog could muster after a hard eight hour day of separation, Daisy merely rolled over and waited for us to bestow belly rubs befitting royalty. 

They say a dog who runs away is an unhappy one. Well, she must have been ecstatic because if not for her walks, she wanted no parts of the great outdoors -- with the exception of the boat where she absolutely loved lounging in the sun. However, as for running around the neighborhood, she had zero interest. We could leave a door wide open and she would not even get up out of curiosity, so imagine our surprise when she disappeared from our townhome on moving day.

We had rented a small truck for the big move from our little townhouse to our brand new spacious forever home. Unfortunately, we underestimated the size needed.We were going to need to make two or three trips to move the entire contents. This would be an all day affair. The door was propped open, and a one way train of furniture and furnishings headed down the stairs, out the door, and into the little truck. Meanwhile, Daisy lay quietly by. She made no attempt to run out. She never did. She merely observed. 

After the little truck was filled, we all jumped into the car leaving Daisy behind as we headed over to empty the first load. After an hour or so, we returned to the townhome to load up again. The front door was propped open, and the box train began to move from the upper floors to the truck waiting outside. After the Uhaul was filled once again, we all headed over to unload -- again without Daisy. We did not want to leave her in an unfamiliar setting as we moved back and forth between properties.

There was not much left for the third trip. We quickly filled the truck with our final haul. This time we would be taking our girl. 

“Daisy!” I called out. 

The sound of my voice echoed throughout the empty space. 

That's weird, I thought. I could have sworn I saw her lying in the corner by the window.

I ran upstairs and went room to room.  

“Daisy!” we all began to yell while searching inside the closets and bathrooms on various floors. Where could she be? There were no hiding places; everything was gone.

I couldn't remember when I actually last saw her. Then it dawned on me that the door had been left open all day long. It never occured to me that she would actually leave. I dashed outside frantically looking left and right. I scanned the neighborhood for our silver skirted girl with her curly legs darting in between bushes and yards but to no avail; I saw no movement. Then I belted out her name as loud as I could – a frantic mother screaming for her lost child, “DAISY!” 

All of a sudden, a head pop up behind the steering wheel of my Toyota Highlander. Apparently, while we were busy loading the truck, Daisy had loaded herself into the front seat of my vehicle where the door had been left open. The queen had determined that she may not know where this caravan was going, but the handwriting was on the wall, and she would not be left behind. It was time to go!