A Brown Bunny, A White Dog, & An Old Lady (05/26/2026)

Yesterday afternoon, my husband and I ran errands, and on our way home, we agreed it would be nice to stop and see our grandson who had been away for several days. We sat in my daughter’s screened in porch and caught up on life flanked by Chester the Siamese cat and Janis, a large white dog who belonged to my future grand-daughter-in-law. My husband, my grandson, and my daughter decided they wanted to check on a malfunctioning outdoor light on a timer. Knowing I could add nothing of value to that task or tactics, I said I would just sit and relax on the porch with Chester and Janis.

As we sat, relaxed to the point of near nap, there was a brown blur of a movement in the yard next door, and before I could realize my day was about to radically change, Janis, the large white dog spied the large brown bunny, charged at the screen sliding door, pushed out the screen, and took off after the bunny. I was stunned and Chester’s hair will need a week to return to normal.

I shouted to my daughter for help and took off after Janis, the white dog. I am not her owner, so she did not respond to my call, my shouts, my pleas, my orders. Once outside the porch, the bunny disappeared, so Janis noticed the neighbor dog leashed in his yard and noticed went to encounter and they got tangled up together in that poor dog’s leash. Suddenly, the neighbor was in the yard trying to untether the dogs and console her dog, and I was trying to explain and apologize and gain control of Janis. But the moment the two dogs were free of one another, Janis took off greyhound speed on what I guess was her idea of a yard game.

I tried calling, I tried begging, I tried chasing, I tried catching, I tried everything this old lady has to catch and hold Janis, but she was in high gear happy as she darted about the neighborhood. I couldn’t keep up let alone catch. Finally, my daughter and grandson emerged, shouted to Janis, “Sit.” And that dog not only sat, but laid down, perfectly still, and my grandson picked her up and carried her back into the house.  As I walked back to the porch winded from my running and totally humiliated by my lack of control of a dog, I admitted out loud, “Well, I didn’t see that coming.”

In the end, all was well except the screen door which my grandson was able to repair. My daughter and her neighbor are “good.” Chester’s hair is starting to lay back down, and his tail is only half as big as it was in that instance. Janis is great after her afternoon exercise. And me, well, let’s just say “dog sitting” will not appear on my resume.

Life has a way of bringing the unexpected. How does the saying go? “It’s not so much what happens to you as how you handle what happens to you.” I’m aware of a need to work on my coping strategies, but my humility has been amplified.

As we continue on our journeys of faith, hope and love, let us be alert and aware that the unexpected is to be expected. Let us be grateful for those who come along and help us when we alone are unable to meet the challenges.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.