Shawshanked

"Shawshanked" -- that's how Rafal put it.

What he was referring to was my dog Emmy's failed attempt to go on the lam after busting out of my backyard the other day. Or in other words, shawshanking me.

As we rode home from Wednesday Night Worlds, I told Rafal how Emmy escaped through a breach in my backyard deck's lower lattice work. Normally, she wouldn't have been able to access that hole because it is beneath the walking surface. But since we are re-planking our cedar deck, and I had previously removed all the top boards, she was able to squirm her way through a labyrinth of lower frame joists and support beams to find her way out onto 52nd Street.

She made it all but ten houses down the street before being captured by a neighbor.

An hour after telling Rafal all about this, I received this follow up text from him:

As many of the locals around here know, I spoil Emmy rotten. One of the things I do is to make her a mini turkey sandwich for her bedtime snack. It's not just a plain old turkey sandwich. It's actually more of a club sandwich because I also toast the bread, slather some mayo on it, and if I have it, throw a slice of bacon and/or tomato on it.

So Rafal's correct. Why would anyone run away from a turkey/club sandwich every night?

My parents also happened to be passing through town this week. They stayed with us on Wednesday. When I told my Mom about Emmy running away, she suggested that perhaps Emmy was out searching for me. Like Lassie, perhaps Emmy was on a hunt and rescue mission.

It then occurred to me that maybe Rafal and my Mom were both correct, but each had only half of the story. The most plausible explanation was this: Emmy was looking for me to fix her a club sandwich.

Yes, that is it.

Dogs are funny. When I'm at home, Emmy stalks me everywhere throughout the house. Often, I'll catch her spying on me. Like, she'll sneak up and peek around the corner to see what I'm up to. Obviously, she's wondering if I'm fixing  her a club sandwich. As if she's thinking, is he doing laundry, or making a sandwich? Watching TV, or do I smell bacon? You get the point.

Recently I was telling my kid brother about Emmy's spying, and how BB8 in one of the Star Wars Force Awakens trailers reminded me of her. The scene is when BB8 is looking around a corner in the Millennium Falcon.

See for yourself:

BB8 spying and quite possibly wondering if the Wookie is making a turkey club

 I've seen Emmy do this a thousand times, if I've seen it once. 

--//--

Emmy's going to be without the turkey sandwich guy for an evening this weekend as I travel to Des Moines for the Sakari Road Race and East Village crit. Maybe I'll prepare a couple extra sandwiches ahead of time for Katherine to give her. Des Moines is a long haul on four legs, but I wouldn't put it past her to go Shawshank it and hunt me down.

Happy Friday. Thanks for reading.