Shio the Escapee

I'm glad that this is a story that I can look back on and laugh today. On December 19th, I had traveled back to Long Island with our precious little munchkin to visit my family before our holiday trip to Hong Kong. I needed to leave Shio at my parent's home while we went out to watch my niece's evening piano recital. I put up a gate in the hallway so he had some room to run around while we were out without room to be destructive. During this time, my sister went home and upon opening the front door, Shio bolts out and runs into the front yard. He had hopped the gate while we were out. My poor sister (who just got over her fear of dogs) starts chasing after him while screaming his name over and over again. True to his Shiba nature, Shio ran away from her because he didn't trust this "stranger" and ran in circles around the house. After a frustrating 10 minutes, sis finally gives up and calls me to tell me that she can't catch the dog and I need to come home and deal with him.

I hop into my car immediately and drove home to find my sis sitting in the freezing NY cold staring into the backyard. I walk over and yell "Sheeeeeeeee-ohhhhhhhhhhhh" and our little lamb comes trotting out from the darkness into my arms. Though my sis was happy that Shio was safe, I bet she was cursing us both out inside.

In the end, we both missed the recital (sorry Grace) and learned a big lesson. Never open the front door without sticking your foot in first.

My parent's neighbor, who heard the commotion from the chase, later went up to my sister and asked, "Was that even your dog?"