11:53 – We had some excitement overnight. About 1:50 a.m., Colin started whining and pestering, so I got up to let him out the front door. Ordinarily, he’d just run out into the yard, do what he had to do, and coming running back to the door. This time, he went around the house, out of sight. After a couple minutes, I called him, but he didn’t respond. So I grabbed a flashlight and went looking for him. I walked around the perimeter of our 1.5 acre yard two or three times looking for him, but he was nowhere in sight. I finally went back in and woke Barbara, who was terrified that he was gone for good or had been hit by a car.
I drove around looking for him for about 15 minutes. Barbara called finally to say he was back home. She remonstrated with him and he promised never to do it again until next time. My attitude was that a dog’s gotta do what a dog’s gotta do. I was worried, too, but as I told Barbara he’s a very smart adult, and he knows where he lives.
Incidentally, I was using one of the Feit Electric LED flashlights from Costco. They use three C-cells and are rated at 500 lumens. At their tightest focus, the beam goes from circular to the square shape of the actual LED, and reaches out a long way. I got a three-pack of them, and I’m thinking they’d be excellent for night-time use on a rifle or shotgun. They provide a useful amount of illumination out well past 100 yards.