Emmylou's unauthorized walkabout

About once a year, always in the spring, Emmylou gets so carried away with hunting that she jumps out of the pasture fence and takes a stroll around the neighborhood. It happened Monday or Tuesday of this week. I was trying to get out of here to get to work. I had let Emmy, Molly, and Zachary out to the dog yard after Cabell, Gypsy, and Bremo were back inside. Emmy and Molly went over the gate to the pasture as they always do. (Molly likes to poop in private.) Zachary won't jump the fence so he runs around the dog yard and barks.

The girls do their business, patrol the pasture a bit, and would usually come back in with Zachary. But this particular morning Emmylou didn't come back in with Molly and Zachary. I blame it on the spring crop of bunnies.

She hunts through the tall grass, scares up rabbits, moles, field rats, or whatever is there and then gives chase. The greyhound in her just loves to chase them and she can still get over the pasture fence even though it's about 4.5' high. She doesn't go far, and she is smart enough to get back home, but I can't stand to have her loose, especially when I'm trying to leave for work. She slowly worked her away around the property, generally staying within sight and hearing range, but when I'd call, she would turn away and pretend not to hear.

Finally, I spotted her across the road at the edge of the woods. I brought the van down to the end of the driveway and opened up the back as if we were going somewhere. She saw it and came running, and hopped into the van. She's smart, so I don't know how often that trick will work.

She has been on activity restriction since then, getting out to the dog yard and pasture only when I have time to stay out there with her and watch. We've only managed a couple of walks this week, but today we took a good long one on the Fluvanna Heritage Trail with Molly, where we met some people, which Emmylou loves. The walk was followed by a run in the pasture with the boys and a dip in the water tank to cool down.

As always, there was much rejoicing when Clay came home.