We had a visit early this morning from a black & tan hunting dog. Blondie Bear and I heard him out front of the house and went into full-alert mode. HairyFace was in the process of fixing breakfast, so NiceLady went out to greet our visitor.   When she opened our gate and tried to coax him in, he trotted the other way. But when she left the gate open and pretended to ignore him, he decided to investigate the play yard and go say “hey” to Millie and Jasper, who were in their pens.

He had a collar and tags, so she figured he was just a little lost (or out on a spree).

There was a phone number on his collar, so my Peoples called his Peoples and let them know where their wayward boy was. It wasn’t long before a truck pulled up our drive and a fella we didn’t know got out. He and Hairy chatted for a bit.

Our visitor’s name was Duke, and it turns out he’s deaf. He and his brother Houdini often go hunting together and as long as they stay together all is well. Houdini lets Duke know when it’s time to go back to the truck for the ride home. If they get separated, Duke can’t hear the recall signal and wanders off. Then the hunter has to hunt his hunting dog!

Duke had gone missing from his home the evening before and run around all night. He was hungry that morning and looking for a meal. Jasper and Millie had just eaten and Hairy was cooking bacon, eggs, and taters. Our house must have seemed like a likely spot to snag some breakfast! Hairy discovered quickly that Duke knows how to open gate latches: clever boy!

Duke was a friendly, well behaved fellow and the peoples enjoyed his visit. Millie and Jasper really wanted to play. Blondie too, for that matter. But the peoples kept us away from him because they didn’t know him and didn’t want anyone to get hurt.

We probably won’t see Duke again, but if he does get away some night, he knows where to find some friendly faces.