The Hot Dog Dog

Two Sundays ago during my weekly calls Mom announced that she thought something had happened to Jack, the vagabond dog that roams the neighborhood and enjoys staying at my mom's house a good part of the day.
Jack has been coming around the better part of 4 years and Mom has become fond of him. It says a lot when a dog is able to squeeze into her cat filled heart. He is truly a gentle giant with an equally gentle soul.
For years now, he would show up at Mom's house for his daily hot dog. She kept him well supplied. Then he was gone. A very worried Mom even called the Dog Catcher to see if he picked him up. Since Jack is a gentle dog she thought that he would be a good target for the local Dog Catcher that is afraid of dogs. But no he wasn't in doggy jail so she couldn't go bail him out. I don't know how she would have explained that no he wasn't her dog, he was the local stray but the entire neighborhood loves and they want him back so bring him around and drop him off at the corner. But if he had been there my mom would have gotten her way. She is that kind of lady.
Then last Sunday, Cheryl the neighbor called and said he was sending his wife over to her house with a gift. Mom rushed around getting decent for the neighbor. When she opened the door, there was Jack wagging his tail. Mom reached down to give hime a big hug with tears in her eyes. The neighbor said that he had shown up a few minutes before at their house so after their greetings, they brought him straight to Mom. Jack nosed into the house and laid down while Mom fixed him a can of cat food. The hot dogs had been sadly given away to a friend's dog the week before. Then out of character, Toby, the extremely shy Siamese, went up to Jack, sniffed him, let him sniff her and then rubbed herself on his shoulder. The best that can figured about this unusual greeting is that Toby understood that Jack was the prodigal son returning and was giving her best cat welcome to him.
So the Hot Dog Dog is back and all is right with the world. Everyone figures that someone picked him up and it took him almost two weeks to get away from them so that he could make his way back to the neighborhood that truly loves him and would never pin his free spirit up. Jack does have legitimate owners that he does seem to go home to late in the evenings after a day filled with socializing. But Jack is a smart dog and knows where the hog dog vendor with a heart of gold is located that adores his doggy nature despite herself and lets him protect her when she needs it. But that is another story for another time.