Living with Houdini Wannabes

My Diary: December 29, 2023

Those cuties are brothers, born at the same time to the same mother. Mama must have been one busy bitch because these guys obviously have different fathers.

Stripe and Brownie have been inseparable since birth. When they were only five days old, these two guys and their sister were rescued and brought to ROAR, our local animal rescue service on the island. Their mother was quite ill, unable to care for them.

The three pups were lucky enough to be placed with Pam for foster care. We followed their story on Facebook, cheered them on as they grew and became healthy, and wondered what would become of them.

Mike and I had long talked about adding a couple more dogs to our 2-pack, creating a strong security team for our home, Roatan Strine Way. I guess it was inevitable these two boys would ultimately join our family.

In April 2021, we chartered a flight to bring our Doberman and Min-Pin with us from the USA to live permanently in Roatan, Honduras.

Rocco and Leo were doing a decent job of barking at appropriate times, but they were true blue house dogs. Until this move to a third-world country to live rustically in a remote beach area, they had led cushy lives. Can you believe they actually slept on beds with Tempurpedic mattresses? They still sleep hard, and we weren’t sure they would alert us of danger in the middle of the night. For peace of mind, we agreed to adopt another dog or two.

Stripe and Brownie made their way into our hearts and lives when they were 10 weeks old. They loved the beach right away. We could let them off-leash to chase each other and play in the sand and water. They would always return to us when called.

Until they didn’t.

Their first taste of stolen freedom was all it took for an obsession to be born. Those two rascals ran as hard as they could up and down the beach, winding through vacant lots where we couldn’t see them. At first, Mike and I would call their names and eventually catch up to them.

Then, there was a time when Stripe took off and did not return to our calls. Eventually, he made his way home, but we knew there could be no more running free for either of them.

Since then, each one has escaped two or three times, independent of the other. If a gate improperly latches or we miss a link attaching the leash to a collar, you’d better believe one will run. We don’t chase them anymore. They come home on their own within an hour or two. It seems like it isn’t as much fun for the escapee without his brother along for the thrill.

We follow a routine pretty closely here at our Roatan home. When the clock strikes 7:30 AM, it is time to prepare for the first beach walk of the day. I wear a bright yellow apron because it has deep pockets for dog treats, an air horn, an extra collar, poop bags, and my camera.

I hook Leo’s collar to his red leash while Mike straps Rocco on his e-collar.

Then I open the first gate to go down a set of 10 steps to the landing, pulling the self-latching gate closed behind me. Rocco puts himself into a “sit” while I open the second gate and let Leo go down the next 10 steps on his retractable leash. I give the “okay” to Rocco, and he takes off like a bat out of hell, flying down the steps into the yard.

As I exit the landing, pulling shut that second self-latching gate behind me, I start down those next 10 steps to the sandy ground on which we’ve built our three pods.

In the meantime, Mike gathers his phone, hat, and leashes for Brownie and Stripe and sends them down to that second gate I’ve just left.

The process is that Mike closes the first gate behind him, walks down the steps, and leashes Brownie and Stripe who are sitting there waiting for him.

This morning, something went wrong.

When I exited the second gate, it did not latch, but I never glanced back to check. Suddenly, Stripe and Brownie were wrestling on the ground, not 10 feet away from me. I yelled for Mike to hurry, and it seemed like in slow motion, still holding Leo’s leash, I tried to reach for the loose dogs. I failed, and those 17-month-old pups disappeared into thin air!

Gone.

I am the Family Worrier. Knowing how much garbage is on the beach for two exploring dogs on the run causes me anxiety.

People picnic and leave their trash in the sand. The Sea occasionally vomits up the crap humans litter. We are vigilant during our walks with the dogs, and it scares me crazy thinking of the smorgasbord awaiting their perusal. Chicken and oxtail bones. Aluminum foil. Styrofoam and plastic packaging. Things that smell bad and taste good to them. Diapers, period cups, tampons, sanitary napkins, used condoms. It’s like Dog Heaven out there for canine escapees.

The pups were MIA, but we took Leo and Rocco for their walks. I think Mike and I both tried to appear unconcerned that we saw nothing of Stripe and Brownie. If our pretended nonchalance was to calm ourselves and each other, it didn’t work. Those of you who have had a pet run away know what I’m describing. Panic, held in check.

Back home, we tackled our chores, all the while keeping an eye on the beach, hoping to see a pair of wagging tails. After a couple of hours, Stripe and Brownie did make some quick appearances. We called them, but that just caused them to run off again.

Five hours later, Mike went down to his workbench to look after a few projects. Guess what he found? The runaways had come home and were napping under the pods!

Stripe had dug a hole under the steps to sleep in, and Brownie had parked himself right under the kitchen pod. Mike gave them the command to “step up,” and they each made their stinky, dirty, wet, and sandy way up the steps to the Puppy Pen.

And I haven’t heard a peep from them since. They stink so bad I can smell them just walking by. Showers are in order, but not until they’ve had some time to stew in it.

Do you think they look remorseful?

Epilogue:

After being sick a couple of times each, Stripe and Brownie eventually got showers and had their 4:30 evening meal. They both ate well and took care of business when Mike walked them. I guess they will survive.

And we will be more careful. We’ve always said that every step we take out here must be intentional, and today’s fiasco proved it well.

Do you have a Houdini Wannabe? I’d love to hear your story!