It’s been too long.
My sincerest apologies.
 
Otis and Buka are doing well. They are enjoying there new vacation home in Lyme Connecticut. They prance though the expansive backyard helping themselves to the all you can eat buffet of deer poop as they try to impress Jay and I with a collection of disease carrying ticks. Somehow, their tick loving willpower has rendered frontline useless.
 
These “off the leash” privileges were discussed on the first trip my immediate ( and good-looking) family made to the farm house. I’ll try and recall the dialogue as accurately as I can:
Jay: My mom said there are coyotes all over the place in Lyme.
Suzie: Ok, well let’s make sure we keep the dogs on a leash at night time
Jay: Sounds good
(fast forward to when Jay has parked the car and is opening the door to let Buka out, keep in mind it is a very dark and eerily foggy night)
Suzie: Jay, Buka chewed through her leash so you need to grab her collar before you let her out
Jay: hahahaha…bukis….
 
Please note that at this point, Buka has taken it upon herself to bolt from the car. Jay is still standing, smiling, laughing at the destroyed leash.
 
Understandably, Buka was anxious to stretch her little legs and stumpy tail, and who better to do it with then what we thought was a pack a coyotes up to no good. On account of the fog, it was difficult making anything out past 10 feet, but the light from the house up the road provided just enough reflection to see Buka’s shadow running off among other large creatures…away from the house she has only visited once before.
 
Eventually Jay’s smile faded to a panicked grimace. The (commonly heard) screams for Buka began. I ran inside and turned all the lights on, knowing how much Buka loves wasted electricity, hoping my irreverence for the energy crisis would bring her back to us.
 
I’m not really sure there is a way to accurately impress upon you how terrified Jay was. There was a look in his eye that made me feel that if we didn’t find Buka, Jay would NEVER be right again. He was more than desperate. It twisted your heart to see.
 
He turned and yelled for me to get in the car and go look for her. I (with a very nervous Otis at my heels) ran into the car and made the slowest K turn in history. Otis was sitting shot gun. We pulled out of the driveway and left Jay, standing in the unlit country road, screaming Buka’s name.
 
I followed the road along side the pasture (front lawn?) that I last saw Buka’s shadow. I was honking and screaming her name (not at the same time). I rolled Otis’ window down and he whimpered and barked for Buka.
 
It was very dark and foggy, so I drove around 2 miles per hour. I hung my head out the window so my voice would carry farther. I drove for around 15 minutes on this road, and finally decided to turn around. I couldn’t hear Jay at all. I was praying he had her.
 
I pulled into a dirt road to turn around, and I see glowing eyes and the outline of flat ears tailing behind the car slowly. Otis made a happy bark welcoming his sister.  Buka tried to jump in the car through the open window…unsuccessfully. I stopped the slow moving car and let her in.
 
I flew back to the farm. I rolled the windows up for fear of Buka trying to get out, so Jay didn’t hear my screams of “I have her”…he was still in the road calling her name. I finally pulled my motor skills together and coordinated speaking with rolling the window down. I told him I had her. Jay’s reaction was priceless. I am NOT exaggerating. He placed his hands to his heart and buckled at the knees. I thought he was going to fall to the ground in thanksgiving.
 
Despite the previous nights scare, Jay let Buka go first thing in the morning, but ths time she stuck around. She realized their was ample poo in the backyard to snack on.
 
It must be nice to be a Buka, you get to do whatever you want and are unconditionally adored by all.