The Testerman Family Reunion has come and gone, and what an adventure it was. It all started with me waiting until the last minute to get a hotel room. None took dogs, none took dogs as big as Stormie, so I had the bright idea that we would camp with the rest of the clan.
I acquired a tent from my friend Matt, got some sleeping bags, cots, cooler and lights, we were ready for this. Off we go to Oklahoma, a hairy beast, a husky and me, quite a crew.
We get there, we visit, we set up the tent, thank you Zach and Cindy, we eat, we visit a lot more then it’s bed time.
The Husky goes down easily, the hairy beast not so much, lots of tossing, turning, mumbling and flat out complaining. Then, silence, all was asleep except for me, I could not go to sleep, there is something about the woods that invokes Deliverance for me. Anyway, about 5:30AM I decide I’ve had enough and get up to go to the restroom and get dressed. I also decide to take the Husky with me so she can stretch her legs and also use the bathroom. Hers being the great outdoors, mine being the great indoors.
Off we go, I have my clothes to change into in one hand, her leash in the other, we get to the restrooms and she refuses to go in, I can’t use both hands because one is full of my clothes. We battle it out and she manages to escape her halter! I look at her, she looks at me and with a grin she was off!
I immediately begin yelling for the Irishman, not caring who I woke, cousin Denny was already up and he began to help me. She would not come and in fact disappeared into the woods. There was nothing to do but get dressed and look for her, so that is what we did.
She was nowhere to be found, there is a fence surrounding the park, the Irishman and I take his truck and drive to the outer edges of the park, I spot her. I slowly get out of the truck and walk towards her slowly speaking nicely, not letting her know I was ready to strangle her. She grins, she takes off and just like that she is gone. We look everywhere in the woods for her, not a sighting, not a sound. Just gone.
We decide to drive into town just incase she went that way, nothing, everyone else was up by that time and we went back to camp. Dejected. We look some more, she is nowhere, literally just gone. We stop the park rangers and they spread the word and take my number, my thinking was she would get hungry and hear everyone stirring about and come back.
5 hours after she disappeared I hear a shout, I turn and there she is, she looks at me, I look at her, she grins and begins to back away and run through the camp. Everyone just stared I said grab her collar! My cousin Kaylie’s friend Courtney just reaches down and grabs it, she is stopped in her tracks.
We have her back, I get close and am almost knocked over by the stench, I will never know what that dog got into but she rolled in it. We gave her two baths while there and one more when we got back. I have to say I really thought we were coming back minus a Husky, next year she is going to a kennel and I will be in a hotel.
Angie World 