High hopes and horror

It looked so promising last night when I started the 20 minute drive out to the house where I will spend the next three weeks. The sun was shining, I had Sara (the cavalier) with me in the car and had all the things I needed with me. I was looking forward to taking the dogs out for a run and then just enjoy the midnight sun, the scenery and a glass of wine. I arrived at the house full of anticipation and without a care in the world. I came in, unpacked and then went out to give the huskies their dinner and to clean up. Everything went well until the dogs decided that it was too boring to just eat while I cleaned and Birk and his daughter Vida started running back and forth in the kennel. Birk jumped at the door and to both of our great surprise and to my horror, the door opened! I had no chance to react before both Vida and Birk were already gone. Luckily I managed to keep Noor in the kennel, before I rushed off to catch the escapees. I am still too much in shock to write down every detail of what happened next, but in short, they ran to the beach, then to the horses, which was where I caught up with them. They bothered the horses quite a bit, I was scared they would get kicked in the head. Luckily they did listen to me when I told them to back off. Unluckily, they did not listen to me when I called them to come back to me. They thought it was hilarious to tease me and ran past me several times before I managed to get a hold of Birk while he stopped for a few seconds to pee... A very wonderful man stopped and helped me get a hold of Vida. I was too stressed to ask his name at the time, but whoever you are: Thank you a million times! I could not have done it without you! There was another man too though... he wasn't exactly helpful when he pointed out that it is illegal to let the dogs off leash (as if I didn't know that..) and that he would shoot them.. I was so scared!! I basically panicked! Luckily I didn't hear anything more from him, though I've seen him by his little house today. The dogs were kept inside for the night. I only took Noor and Sara for a 50 minute walk in the terrain behind the house before more or less collapsing in bed. I decided that Birk and Vida had had enough exercise that day.. I think I needed that walk more than the dogs did, to calm myself down.

A nice walk in beautiful nature, with one of the best dogs in the world. Exactly what I needed after all the drama!

Beautiful little Sara.

Noor and Sara, not best friends yet, but they tolerate each other. There isn't much of a difference in size either, so hopefully they will be able to play together in a couple of days.

I'm still shaken by the experience so so far today I have only taken Noor and Sara out jogging for 5 km. I know it is unfair to stay mad at the dogs, they only did what was natural to them, but after yesterday I just feel a bit insecure around them. I know I can get Noor and Sara to come back to me if they would get loose, but I obviously can't count on Birk or Vida to come when called, and therefor I am hesitant to take them out. I know I have to take them for walks, and I will, I just have to get myself calm and assertive first. Maybe I should do some yoga..

Monica (who owns the huskies) often calls me her "super-handler".. I must say I didn't feel much like a super-handler yesterday... Hopefully the self confidence will return. I'm looking forward to sharing happier stories with you guys soon! Hope you have a nice weekend :)