It was probably 1961. It was cold and if not Christmas Eve then very close.
Back then, the attitude towards dogs, at least in our part of north Surrey, perched on the edge of the North Downs’ escarpment was lax by what passes as sensible ownership these days.
The family pet was a big boxer, a soft hearted, hard headed, constantly drooling mutt whose size and strength and saliva tended to make people cautious about approaching. I may be misremembering but in my mind’s eye Punch was let out every morning after breakfast. Off he’d go, roaming the local streets, fields and woods of Upper Caterham, Kenley, and Whyteleafe until he came home for more food. No one objected I think and while he might have ranged a distance occasionally, mostly he stayed close.
The point, though, is his absence for a few hours wasn’t a worry. However, if he failed to return for food, something was wrong. This particular day, it was early evening when his absence was noted. ‘Don’t worry,’ said Dad. Even then, we knew better than to take his assurance at face value. Eventually, Dad was persuaded to go and look. When he returned empty-handed, their worries were self-evident. ‘There was a dog, yowling, but it wasn’t Punch,’ he confided.
Even with so few cars, there must have been a worry about an accident. He had a collar tag. Wouldn’t someone have rung?
In the morning, Dad was off again. Eventually, he turned up at house with oddly yowling unPunch-like sounding dog. ‘Excuse me, that dog…’
‘Not mine. Bloody thing is salivating. All the time.’
‘Can I look?’
‘Be my guest, but if he eats you, it’s your lookout.’
Of course, it was Punch, poor thing. The man followed Dad, and once the master and hound relationship was established, the man came close and helped Dad with Pucnh.
‘Stupid ‘appeth’ the man concluded and took a picture, a copy of which he later gave Dad. This…
Yep, daft bloody dog.
TanGental 
Poor fellow. Glad he was found and Ok in the end. Can’t imagine letting a dog run loose in the neighbourhood but as you say, it was different then.
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I look back and wonder… really?
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Bless 🤗🤗🤗
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Having a boxer, I can vouch for daft. Great story, Geoff.
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Yes though your girl looks so stately…
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😁 You are the best.
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What a wonderful photo of an adorable dog, drool or not.
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He was a lovely pet even if his tendency.to lean against mum’s legs probably contributed to her need for a replacement.
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We had a boxer when I was a child but she never strayed far from home.
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Wise dog
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I suppose only chickens are allowed “free range” these days. Our dogs too had the run of the neighborhood. Our dog George was well known by all. He would traipse up to the elementary school to sit outside my little sister’s classroom. The principal would call and ask my mom to come take him home.
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Good to know it was universal
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For sure.
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We still allow it for cats, why not dogs? I know…….I know!
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It’s because we’re dogist
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Dogs roaming are fine and dandy unless you’re a kid on your bike and a dog decides you’re fair game for a chase. Two grazed knees later, I still love dogs. My goodness, you are so much like your Mum in this photo. Good story.
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She was pregnant with me in that one!
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You still look like her; at least in that photo, you do.
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A good story. In case you missed this one: https://derrickjknight.com/2021/12/05/a-knights-tale-74-if-you-know-this-dog-please-return-him-to-his-owner/
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Those were the days, when dogs could run free. My first dog, Jeff, disappeared for three days once. My granddad finally found him with his leg caught in a bear trap some neighbor had set in the yard of his summer house. Of course there were no bears in our seas side town and my Dad was so angry he took the guy to court!
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Did he win? I imagine a bear trap-child interface might have caused similar issues?
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Yes, he did, but no money was attached. The man was just ordered to remove all his traps. My Dad was not happy about that, since we had vet bills to pay. And we all imagined what would have happened had it been a child. PS. There was more than one trap!
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Sickening! I think there’s a special chamber in hell reserved for such as he, alongside those who sneak into parking spaces you’ve just lined up and those who enjoy running fingernails down blackboards..
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I can only hope he enjoyed those accommodations!
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Thank goodness he was okay. Our dogs always ran free. Years later an X-ray showed buckshot. He was chasing the farmer’s sheep. I’m glad he had fun.
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Gosh. How horrid
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He never showed any discomfort, so we had no idea. We were horrified, the dog was fine.
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Such stoic beasts
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Yes, indeed!
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