Well the first job of today was to go searching for Millie.  Again.  She dug out of the house yard yesterday with Baby and had been missing in action for almost 24 hours when we went scouring the road and nearby countryside looking for her.  Of course it’s a bit like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but Ric was beside himself so what could we do but try to find the little brat.

Millie – along with Baby – was last seen zigzagging across the western hillside of the farm, hot on the  tails of a mob of kangaroos.  Baby had returned within a couple of hours, but there was no sign of Mil.  It was a chilly 5 degrees last night so we were more than a little concerned that Mil hadn’t surfaced.

So off we went.  We searched high and low, following the roads and fence lines and all of her favorite spots (where the roos hang out).  By this stage it was still only 7 degrees and not the best weather to be out searching for a naughty beagle.  We kept looking for about 3 hours.  Ric by this stage was beside himself but Millie’s always come off her past adventures unscathed (if not a bit sore and sorry for herself!) – certainly better than the rest of the pack.  Hence her nickname “Teflon Mil” – she never gets stuck!

Well by lunchtime even I was more than a little concerned.  It was now more than 24 hours since Mil was last sighted.  I took TJ and Baby out to see if they could track her scent.  Baby is certainly better at tracking than TJ but it seemed even she wasn’t sure which direction to head in.  That’s probably because in the zigzagging, the girls had crossed back and forward over their path so there were in fact many trails Millie had left.  So after an hour I gave up on that too.

Back at the house I put the kettle on for a cuppa and to think about the next actions to take.  At that moment, Baby disappeared out the back door and after a couple of minutes I saw her at the front gate.  Sure enough, there she was.  Millie was back!  Looking quite skinny and with swollen, sore feet.  But otherwise well.  So as I write this she is now recuperating in front of the fire.

If her past benders are anything to go by, she’ll be there for at least a couple of days yet til she’s ready to try her luck again.  Hopefully this time we’ve beagle-proofed the yard.  Again!