This morning, I took Tucson back to the Humane Society for her second set of shots and to get a chip put in her.  That seemed to have done her in for a good part of the day because she slept all the way home and then slept for several hours in her kennel when we go home.  This is when I got a hair-brained idea…

It was so quiet in the RV that I laid down with the cats on the bed for a bit and I was noticing how fat Kimba is.  I got to thinking that maybe I should try taking her for a walk to see if she could get some exercise.  I took her outside and put Tucson’s old leash on her.  (Tucson is now using a thick rope leash because she almost chewed through her first one.)

Kimba was not a happy camper!  First, she tried to hide under the RV but I wouldn’t let her.  I tried to get her to walk, but she staunchly refused, so I picked her back end up with the toe of my shoe and walked her along as I took each step.  I was aiming to take her to the office so I could check for mail.  We got very close to our destination when I lost balance trying to scoot her along.  There was a low fence beside the path and I fell over it into a cactus.  I let go of the leash and Kimba was gone, just like that!

A man saw her running and pointed generally in the direction she had gone.  I quickly let the woman in the office know and gave her a description of Kimba in case someone found her and reported her.  I walked over in the direction the man had pointed, but I couldn’t see her.  I walked over to the guard shack at the entrance and told him about Kimba in case she tried to go out onto the road.  He helpfully told me I’d better find her before the rattlesnakes or coyotes did.  (I know for a fact that the rattlesnakes don’t come out until the summer when it’s hot, but I have heard the coyotes at night.)

I went home and got my truck and drove slowly up and down the roads in the RV park looking for her and then, just in case she had gotten ambitious and left the park, I drove around the perimeter of the park on the main roads.  No sign of her.

I went back to the RV and waited for Mark to come home from work, and when he did, we walked around some more to look for her.  We didn’t have any luck, so we went back to the RV.  A few minutes later, a man came knocking on our door.  He had Kimba’s collar and leash in his hand, but no Kimba.  He said he had had her but then she backed out of her collar and ran.  He showed Mark where he had last seen her and we went looking again.  Still no luck.

When we got back to the RV, Mark decided to go get some things at the store and he said he’d drive around the park again while he was at it.  Tucson had awakened so I took her out with me to say goodbye to Mark.

As Mark was driving around before heading to the store, it occurred to me to take Tucson around where I knew Kimba had been.  Tucson had her nose to the ground all along the route.  I wasn’t entirely certain she was really tracking Kimba, but she was certainly sniffing more intensely than I’ve ever seen her do before.  We got to the place the man said he’d last seen Kimba, and then I kind of gave Tucson her way.  She headed in the direction the man said he’d seen Kimba run after she slipped her collar, but then Tucson came to a fenced yard where three small dogs started barking at her and she got scared.  I turned around and headed the other way with her, thinking we wouldn’t be able to find Kimba because of those dogs.

We got back to the point where Kimba had last been seen and Tucson’s nose went down again.  She started walking through the carport of a vacant park model in the opposite direction from where Kimba had run, but in the carport Tucson started sniffing all around.  I looked around, and there, under the wooden stairs to the park model’s door, was Kimba!  She was cowering way back where I never would have seen her.  I leashed Tucson to something just out of reach of the steps and I got down and practically had to scrape Kimba out of there with my hand.  She almost seemed too fat to have gotten through the openings in the stairs, but I finally managed to pull her out.  I was going to try to zip her inside my jacket so she wouldn’t jump and run again, but she was too fat.  I took a chance and held her tightly in my arms while I unhooked Tucson and headed back to the RV.  All went well and I got both critters in with no mishaps.

I got Kimba’s collar back on her and then I gave Tucson a special treat.  I was so proud of Tucson that I took her to the office with me and bragged about her when I told the woman at the desk that Kimba had been found.  I bragged about Tucson to my neighbor who had been trying to help us find Kimba.  When Mark came home from the store, I pointed to Kimba back on the dashboard of the RV and bragged about Tucson to him, and of course, he gave her lots of praise too.  Now I’m bragging about my smart puppy here!

Interestingly enough, the rescue didn’t change Kimba’s feelings about Tucson.  She still hissed when Tucson got too close.  They may never be friends, but if Kimba ever gets lost again, I know who to call!