Rescue in the Dark

As most of you know Matt works nights and is on duty every other weekend. That was the case this weekend, so I planned my day accordingly. I spent most of Saturday with my mom and got home around 9:30. As soon as I walked in the door Thelma, the elderly lady next door, called and invited me over to sit on her porch and talk. So, I went over and spent the next half hour chatting with her. Thelma's daughter, and her dog Buttercup, are staying with her while waiting to close on a condo. The daughter was in bed but Buttercup sat on the porch with us the whole time we chatted. Thelma told me how afraid she was that Buttercup might get away from her sometime. (foreshadowing here)
When I left, Thelma moved the baby gate meant to restrict Buttercup to the porch, I passed through and she moved it back. I went home and started cleaning up the kitchen when all of the sudden I hear a thunderous knock on the front door. My mind raced wondering who it could be (the dogs were safely in the basement so I knew it wasn't the cops responding to a noise complaint at our house like last time). I looked out the small window in our front door and Thelma was standing there in her nightgown frantic.
I opened the door and she announced that Buttercup had gotten away from her. I raced in my flipflops to the back of her house where she was gesturing that the dog had fled. I thought I saw a streak of white (Buttercup is a golden lab, malamute mix) so I tore off in that direction. After a little coaxing and calling, I managed to corral her against 2 fences at the back of a neighbors yard. I reached down to drag her by the collar back to the house, and realized she didn't have one on. So, I called to Thelma and she went in the house as if she knew what I was asking for. I should have known better, her hearing isn't that great when you are in a normal conversation with her, let alone when calling from 2 yards away at 10:30 at night. So, I did what every mother would do for a child. I picked the 60 pound dog up and carried her back through the wet grass in my flipflops. When I struggled to Thelmas's back door, I knocked and no one answered. I refused to put the dog down for fear she would bolt again, so I opened up the patio door and let her in the house. Unfortunately, Thelma stood on the front porch with the door open. All I heard was Thelma exclaim, "She's back," as Buttercup stormed through the house, back out the front door, and off the porch. I'm fully convinced Thelma believes Buttercup let herself back in the house. Needless to say, I grabbed her leash and collar and set off to trap her again. The second time around Buttercup was on to my tricks and made quite the game out of her "rescue". Eventually, I saw her safely back into a house and ensured all exits were properly secured before releasing her from the leash. It's all in a day's work for Katie - Animal rescue Neighbor Supreme.