I have been making leashes for the dogs out of a long piece of rope I got at one of our local building supply companies. The dogs started out with store-bought leashes, but Zoe bites at hers, and she chewed it so much that I finally threw it away. I can make a lot of leashes from a fairly cheap length of rope instead of having to buy a new leash every month or so.

I made a short leash for Sam and about a five-foot leash for Zoe. Then I made a longer addition for Zoe’s so I could let her run in the front yard with Sam. The total length for Zoe’s is about 12 to 14 feet, which is long enough that she can get up to a good speed by the time she stretches the leash to its full length. And she did that Monday afternoon. She was going so fast I had to release the leash or have my arm dislocated. She kept going full speed into the woods and disappeared with Sam following.

This was the fifth time they have run away. The first time they did it they came home after dark and sat around in the garage until I happened to look. The next time Sam was gone a full day and Zoe was gone four days. The third time a neighbor caught Zoe and called us. The fourth time, which was only about a week ago, a couple living at the bottom of the mountain caught them and called. This was the fifth time. This time I posted on Facebook. They disappeared at about 2:15 or so. Eventually they were spotted a couple of miles away, and then more than four miles away, but by the time I got to the places where they were sighted, they were gone.

They finally came home at about 10:30. Sam had rolled in something nasty and smelly, so I had to bathe him before I could let him in the house. Zoe was wet and a little smelly, but I didn’t want to undertake as big a job as washing her would be that late in the evening. She got her bath today, Tuesday.

The thing I found most interesting (not the thing I found most infuriating) in this case was the eyewitness accounts of the people who responded to my post on Facebook. One man who saw them in his yard said the big one was dragging an orange leash. A woman who saw them later in the day said the big one was trailing a bright red line. This is the rope I use for their leashes.

And this is the stub of Zoe’s leash, the only part she brought back home. It looks kind of like a fishing lure.

What color would you call this? I call it blue because to my eye it’s mostly blue. The red/orange is eye-catching, maybe even more so in bright sunlight, but I was surprised when they talked about a red or orange leash.

The top photo shows the knot I use to make the hand loop. It’s called a bowline loop. Boy Scouts and sailors probably know this one, but it was new to me. I found it when searching for knot-tying instructions. Since this is a nautical knot, you might expect “bow” to be pronounced like the bow of a ship, but in the case of this knot, it’s actually pronounced like bow in “bow and arrow.” It has the advantage of not slipping, so the loop doesn’t close up on your hand when the dog pulls on it. The knot I used to attach the clip is called a clip knot, which seems appropriate.

I could probably tie another bowline loop without looking at the instructions, which means it’s a pretty simple knot. I would have to look up the clip knot, although it’s also a simple knot.