If I have to call for that dog just one more time, I might have to get myself another dog.

It seems every few weeks, we are yet again looking for "Boy".  Boy is a Jack Russell terrier/Louisiana Catahoula Dog who has a nose for groundhogs and any other animals that live in the ground (moles, voles, etc.).  He also loves squirrels, chipmunks, and other small critters.  Once he sees one of these creatures, he is hot on the trail:  so much, in fact, he usually ends up getting lost.

Then we have to spend time worrying about him, wondering if he's been hit by a car, attacked by a dog or a larger creature like a wolf, coyote, or even a bear, or even dognapped by someone who happens to be desperate for a dog.

We have had Boy now for the past few years; we found him at a local animal shelter.  We were struck by his lively personality, his arresting ice-blue eyes, and his intelligence.  It was love at first sight.  Then we discovered his hunting streak.  He must have had a supersensitive nose because once he smelled a squirrel, rabbit, chipmunk, or mole, he was more than ready to hunt. 

I guess it was because of his Cajun instinct; all we knew about the dog was that he'd been born in Louisiana, and his former owner was a Cajun trapper who trapped animals for a living.  He absolutely loved to go hunting!

As I write this, Boy has been missing for over 24 hours.  He saw a squirrel yesterday in our elm tree and he went into spasms of excitement.  He bolted outside after our youngest child, Braylynn, let the door open and he got out.  We haven't seen hide nor hair of him since, and we are getting increasingly worried about our pet.

We have alerted the local paper and the police about our missing dog; we've even put posters up in strategic places so people can be informed, and if any one of them happens to catch side of our wayward dog, they can then return him to us.  We even have our kids and friends (as well as neighbors) who are currently combing the area, to see if they have seen a brown and white dog with blue eyes and chewed up ears.

I just hope he is found; if he is, then we are going to make him an inside dog.  We are tired having to be stressing out about him and his shenanigans!