Felix Adventures: KC Oasis and a stray pup

My son Felix and I went to Kansas City Oasis, as we do Sundays when his schedule aligns.

People there like to see him because he is so young and cute as a button. Before we left he had fallen asleep in Kate's arms and I packed him into the bucket seat, expecting him to be hungry when he awoke. We parked a few blocks away on Bell st, and when we arrived he was awake and alert and had lots of fun looking at everyone.

Eventually he was hungry and he had a good time sitting on me in the back with his bottle. He received lots of comments on his hair, which we first spotted on an ultrasound.

As it came time to leave we were both surprised by the thunder outside. When I carried him to the window for a peek, I saw hail! I had no umbrella and realized I was woefully prepared for this situation.

Our friend Julie offered to watch him until I could return with our car, and I graciously accepted.

About halfway to the car I found a medium sized black dog. He was scared and wet and shivering in the hail and came up to me immediately. Usually I would be more than happy to drive a lost pet home, but I needed to get to my son. But when I opened the door he hopped right in!

I was reminded of simple logic puzzles I had faced as a child: a hunter has a dog, two rabbits, and only one canoe. How can the hunter cross the stream in the least number of trips without mixing incompatible animals on the shore. I could not leave an unknown dog in the car with my son.

I pushed him out. As I drove toward Oasis he followed me for an entire block. A lot of the people at Oasis have, raise, or love dogs, surely if I took the dog to Oasis, we could figure things out from there. I stopped and opened the trunk and he hopped in and I was able to read his dog tags phone number.

On the way I called his owner, who explained that the thunder had scared him into bolting. Just as I arrived, Julie appeared at the door with Felix. I rolled down the window to ask for just a few minutes - I've got to deliver this dog! Just then the dog's owner arrived and we carefully opened the trunk and clipped on the leash and sent him on his way with a thank-you and handshake. I ran in, thanked Julie, washed my hands, grabbed Felix, explained the situation, and thanked Julie one last time.