Every morning when we get back from walking the girls to school, Oreo drinks his entire water bowl and stands by the patio doors. If I don't get there quickly enough he walks over to me, stares for a bit and then walks back to the patio door.
After a while I check on him to make sure he hasn't wraped his tie-up around the tree or started snacking on the garden. For some reason he likes to eat leaves off the Japanese maple.
This morning I looked out the door and saw his tie-up. He wasn't on it. I opened the patio door in a panic. I walked around the patio in my slippers looking for Oreo.
I didn't see him.
I ran into the house and put on my coat and shoes. I tried to figure out how much of a head start he had on me. When was the last time I saw him? I thought about how mad the girls would be if I had to tell them I lost Oreo. I grabbed my purse, looking for my keys as I went to grab a leash. I mentally planned a route to search for him when I saw on something. It was Oreo.
It turns out I didn't put him outside today. For whatever reason he decided he didn't want to go out. I'm such a creature of habit that it never ocurred to me to look for Oreo in the house. He always goes outside during the day unless I force him to stay inside. I bent down to put him, took off my coat, put away my purse and went back to work. It turns out he can change his patterns, but I cannot. Who is the trained one in this house?