on a personal note - my dog Henry

To this point, I haven't shared too much of my personal life on Lens Flare (I have a family blog that I keep updated, mostly for my mom and for my husband so he can see his girls when he travels - click here if you're interested). But I have Henry on my mind today.

Henry ran away yesterday - he is a Beagle, and for those of you that know your dogs, Beagles have a tendency to roam once they make a break for it. Apparently Henry and his naughty brother Jack (another Beagle) managed to push our rickety wooden gate open enough for the both of them to escape, and while Jack always comes home, Henry was off.

He's been gone now for over 12 hours. I'm putting together a "lost dog" flyer, I've called the local animal hospital, vet's office, and shelters. I'm praying I don't get a call from animal control telling me that he's hurt or worse.

I wonder if he knew he was sick - Henry was due to get a mass removed from his head this Friday that his vet suspected from a biopsy was cancerous. Maybe he needed to scratch some items from his personal bucket list.

His brother Jack is sad - we rescued the two of them from a hound rescue here in Southern California almost 6 years ago (Beagles and Buddies) and the rescue insisted the two of them be adopted together. We have to warn the groomer not to bathe them separately, or they will HOWL the entire time. They nuzzle each other when they sleep. I'm more worried about Jack than I am about myself, or even my 3 year old, who thinks mommy is going to find Henry while she's at preschool.

Henry is my adventurer, but I'm hoping he finds his way home. He's done it before - 4 years ago, a few short months after we moved from Southern California to Berkeley, Henry and Jack ran away from our dog sitter. They were miles from home, and while Jack could be lured to safe hands with food, Henry was off and running. My husband actually flew home (we were visiting family for Thanksgiving) to search for Henry, but we lived in the hills - he could have been anywhere.

Somehow, Henry found his way home - over 3 miles from home and no familiar places or smells to rely on, he found his way. His paws were raw from all the running, and he was exhausted but he was home.

I'm hoping Henry comes home again...