Common Courtesy

Debbie crept towards Lexus, hoping he wouldn't turn tail and run. Lexus was a greyhound; sleek, beautiful, and highly frustrating. Having owned the beastie for a couple of months, Debbie had judged it safe for her to let him off the lead. Mistake. He didn't seem about to disappear forever, but he also didn't appear to have any intention of returning to his owner - the open parkland was just too tempting, and this game of chase was fun!

“Come on boy, come here.” Debbie called. She hid the lead behind her back, in a futile attempt to convince him she wasn't trying to catch him. “Come on lad.” She called again. Lexus grinned in a lollopy-tongued kind of way, turned and ran off a little further. “Come on Lex, here boy. I’ve got a treat for you!” She tried to control the frustration in her voice, but the evasive greyhound had pushed her patience to the limits.

Debbie had been trying to catch him for the past half hour. At first she laughed at his puppyish antics, but was now highly annoyed. She took a couple of steps closer, and Lexus turned and bounded off again. The carefully tended parkland was swallowed up by the dog’s long, easy strides, trees easily navigable in the late afternoon sunlight. At a safe distance he stopped and regarded Debbie in a playful way. He reckoned this was more fun than chasing a silly yellow ball.

“OK then lad, look, tonight you can have a double dinner, how about that? Come on.” She patted her thighs trying to encourage him closer. To no avail. Lexus was enjoying himself; she took another step and he was off again, leaping through the dappled sunlight like a deer. Debbie set her jaw, attempting to remain calm. “Here boy! We’ll buy you a treat on the way home! Come on then!” Leaves scattered as the greyhound shot off yet again.

She continued to follow the wily greyhound through the park in short bursts, getting more and more angry each time. She tried tempting him, bribing him; she even tried to introduce him to the concept of blackmail. Nothing worked. Lexus had an endless supply of energy - he didn't seem even close to tiring. Debbie berated herself for having bought such an energetic dog.

Twenty minutes later Debbie finally lost her last thread of patience. She tried to run after him and physically catch him, but only ended up hot, sweaty, and frustrated to the point of tears. She stood for a few seconds, fuming, while Lexus trotted off and lay down in the shade of a tree.

“OK then dog, I’m going now. You can stay here, outside, without food, and I might, MIGHT, come and get you tomorrow. OR I MIGHT JUST LEAVE YOU HERE FOREVER!!!” She turned and stomped back to the car, exhausted and angry. When she got to the car she noticed that Lexus had followed her. She opened the door of the car, hoping that he had had enough, but he simply stood there, his soft eyes betraying his mischevious nature.

Debbie had run out of all ideas, there was nothing left she could think of. She couldn't catch him, he wouldn't come to her. Short of shooting him with a tranquiliser gun, she couldn't think of any way to get him home. She got into the driver's seat and turned to look at him.

“Please?”

Lexus wagged his tail, jumped into the car and lay down on the back seat. Debbie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.