Vanishing Collars

I must have jinxed myself by declining the new dog tag and nagging about how important I think collars/tags are because last Wednesday, Lilly’s went missing. Seriously. Vanished. No idea where it went.

Clearly, she had it on when we walked in the morning, but just after lunch, she boasted an entirely naked neck.

I’d been inside working. Lilly had been outside poking around by herself and goading Tom into throwing the stick, while he worked in the garage.

I’ve walked the fence line looking for spots she might have gotten hung up. I’ve checked around the deck and the shed, thinking maybe she had shirked it while starting at bunnies. I’ve even walked the pastures, hoping for a glimpse of something shiny.

Nothing.

So, I guess I’m VERY lucky that, as The Thundering Herd warned in comments that day recently when we talked about collars, Lilly didn’t get so hung up that she choked herself.

Our ONLY guess is that she might have lost it in a mud-sucking hole because Tom did see her come up from the creek bed, literally covered in mud from her chest forward — both legs, entire head, etc.

Alas, the grasses are tall. The mud is real, and the snakes are OUT, so I’m not too keen on slogging the length of the creek, looking for new holes (from hunting mice).

It sounds silly, I know, but I loved that collar. Loved it. Loved it.

The story goes that her foster family bought it for her. I liked it, so I’ve kept it all these years. In fact, I hoped it would be Lilly’s one and only collar in her whole life.

Weird? Maybe.

But, I try NOT to just buy her things for the sake of buying her things. I recommitted to this frugal idea even more after blowing a huge amount on a fancy collar and leash for her first (and so far only) on-camera media interview in May 2008 (which went exactly nowhere … thanks for asking).

For the life of me, I cannot find the post where I wrote about the fancy, fancy dog collar and leash. So, this photo will have to do. Yes, it’s pink leather, and there is a matching leash. I’d already had a simple tag with her name and phone number made for it, but it’s sat in a drawer for 2+ years.

The collar is pretty. I’d actually planned on giving it away, but now we need it for a backup until:

• We find her old collar.
• I find another collar I like.

This one is OK, but Lilly is NOT a sissified city girl. She is a rough-and-tumble mountain girl. And, her old collar said all that and more.

For some odd reason that collar meant a lot to me, so I’m just crushed that it disappeared.

KB’s dog K (another hearty mountain girl) used to have one just like it (different colors), so I suppose I could buy another one, but it wouldn’t be the same.

So, if there is a patron saint of missing collars, I could use some help.

P.S. And, yes, we tried asking Lilly where she lost it and to “use her nose” to find it, with no luck.