Sushi and Bob

Meet Bob, Sushi’s new boyfriend. Bob recently came into our lives via a love note. It was a bit of a shock, but since Sushi was spending lots of time away from home, we suspected something was up. But we did not anticipate “Bob.”

Sushi even pulled an all-nighter, arriving home one morning looking tired and disheveled. He did not even acknowledge us as he slunk by on his way to the bedroom. He slept the whole day, then woke up all perky, ready for another night foray. That was when we saw the note. It was pinned to his collar. It read:

To the owners of the cutest dog in the world. If he is gone and you are wondering where he is, come to the Vered Hagalil holiday farm. 

“Sushi….you are a two-timer,” I admonished him. He looked back at me blankly with large brown eyes. He was in love and was determined to go and find his friend. Was life with a cat that boring? And how did he keep running away?

Our garden has high fences on all sides. We secured it to keep porcupines, wild boar, rock rabbits, and jackals away from the vegetables and chickens. But we did not think we needed a fence to keep our dog in; he who lives a perfectly charmed life of soft couches, silk carpets, a huge yard to roam about, plus love and good food. 

At his core, Sushi is a wanderer, an adventurer, a thrill seeker, and an athletic high-jumper par excellence.  To find his escape point in the fence, we tested Sushi by calling to him from outside on the road. He first acted innocently, running from gate to gate like a normal dog, but when he could not contain his excitement for an adventure, he swiftly dashed to a corner, cleared the fence and scrambled through thick bushes. We then got to work securing this weak point.

Within seconds, he found his way out from the newly secured section and was gone. Again. And again. Out came wire and wire cutters. Then came heavy-duty items like pallets, logs, pointy sticks, and stones. Out he flew, jumped, sprinted, crept.

The time that we should have been dedicating to planting and harvesting now went into containment. All for a silly black dog called Sushi who considered this place to be a fun Escape Room.

Our fence no longer looks attractive; anyone venturing near here would think this is the home of paranoid, insane people. This place could be a set for a horror movie: certainly not an inviting, hospitable home.

No matter how many points we secured in the fence, Sushi found another way out. Since we could not keep him here in our little garden of Eden, we decided we would go visit him in his new-found paradise. We drove a few kilometers outside our yishuv to Vered HaGalil and called the number on the love note.

Two young women in the horseback riding office were thrilled to finally meet the pet parents. Sushi was a beloved star there! They showed us videos of him playing with another black dog, running around, and prancing with horses.

“Who’s the other dog Sushi is playing with?” I asked.  (Sushi who does not play well with others, so we were shocked to see that he has a friend.)

“Bob,” they answered. “Your dog’s name is Sushi? We were calling him Bob 2.”

Not only did my dog have another life, he had another name.  We were so frustrated with Sushi’s constant Houdini act and the Amityville Horror fence, we proposed that they keep Bob 2. They made us a counter offer and proposed we keep Bob 1.

And that’s why Bob is here today. No, we are not adopting Bob 1. Here is here on a play date to placate our love smitten dog and the two Bobs dogs seem to be inseparable.

Our garden may never be Sushi proof. Bob 1/Houdini/Sushi is still finding escape routes and we are still patching up the fence. Our place looks like the “Psycho House” and weeds are thriving in the unkempt garden, but these two dogs are getting along just splendidly. Today, Sushi is content to stay at home as long as he can run, wrestle, and fetch with his new friend Bob.