She's a runner!

Oh Miss Sadie.

Sadie and I have had quite the holiday weekend!

First, I had to work REALLY late Christmas Eve. Poor Sadie was stuck in the house for about 16 hours until I got home at 1 A.M.! Then, I loaded her up in the car and we drove an hour and a half to my grandmother's - arriving at 3 a.m.

Christmas was nice, but she didn't like having to stay in her crate most of the day as Mom and I drove around to see a myriad of relatives.

I had to work about 6 hours Friday so I left early in the morning, taking Sadie with me because Mom is not a fan of such a "big" dog. Saturday morning, Sadie and I drove the hour and a half again to my grandmother's. She had to be crated while I went to the big family party.

Then, we drove another hour and a half to go to Dad's.

While there, Sadie got out of the yard - TWICE!

She found that a part of the fence is lower than the rest (the fence is the same height all around, but at this spot the ground is higher - weird, huh?) and jumped it with the greatest of ease. Next thing I know, I'm watching her run into the neighbor's pond. Yeah, that's right.

But wait ... it gets better!

So, I finally corral my wet, muddy dog by driving next to her in the car. She loves car rides so much that as soon as I opened the door she jumped in my lap. Blech.

I put her crate outside and had her stay in it until she dried.

Later in the day, my step brother, Jeff, and I took her outside but carefully guarded the weak spot in the fence. We watched, amazed as Sadie tried to corral the neighbor's horse!

It was beautiful and magical to watch. Sadie and the horse ran up and down the fence line. The horse's rhythmic hoofs pounding the ground, Sadie's joy at the chance to chase something so large radiating from her body.

As we watched, however, Jeff commented that Sadie was in the field with the horse! Suddenly, the horse was chasing Sadie.

"What happens if he catches her?" I asked Jeff, full of concern.

"Depends. He could easily trample her," came his drawling, cowboy response.

Jeff said there wasn't anything I could do but watch ... and pray.

Luckily, Sadie's attention span is worse than a 2-year-old's. She got through the slats in the horse's pasture and ran away - from the horse and our house. Jeff, ever the calm one, suggested I not run after her.

"She'll come back," he said, matter-of-factly.

Trying to act calm too, I join Jeff as we slowly walk around to the front yard (in the general direction of Sadie). I can't see her, but I can hear her crashing around in the neighbor's leaves. Then all of a sudden, nothing. Silence.

Worried, I look in the direction I last saw her. Nothing. I scan the horizon through scores of trees and see slight movement. I strain my eyes and see Sadie's head moving. But as I look, her movements seem weird. Suddenly, I realize what happened.

"She jumped in their pool!" I holler to Jeff. We both take off in the direction of the pool, and sure enough, Sadie is doing circular laps around it!

It was hilarious. Jeff and I both had to pause for a moment to get rid of the giggles. Because it was an above-ground pool (partially buried), the sides were really slick and Sadie couldn't get out. When she saw me, she kept trying to climb the side, but couldn't.

Jeff, bless him, just pushed up his sleeves, reached right into the water and yanked her out. He then dragged her all the way home and put her straight into her crate (again) to dry out (again).

Merry Christmas, Sadie! I hope you enjoyed your adventures!