The almost great escape and a 2-legged dog

So, have you seen the kids movie "Finding Nemo"? Do you remember the "great escape" plan that the fish in the dentist's tank came up with to get back to the ocean?

We had a real-life great escape plan, but this time it involved a lizard.

Our version started when the kids found a most pathetic looking little lizard on a cold day. I, being the softy that I am, allowed them to bring it into the house to warm it up. John and I both thought that it was about ready to keel over and sure enough, the next morning it appeared to be dead. When I picked up the container and tilted it slightly, the lizard just stiffly slid across the bottom of the container.

However, when the kids woke up and Savannah checked on him, he moved a little bit. We decided to make his plastic bucket a little more "homey" and added some rocks, twigs, a dish of water and a clump of grass. He seemed to perk up some and we even caught him up on the grass a couple of times.

He still looked terribly pathetic as he was shedding his old skin. He had some dark patches and some lighter, scaly patches of old skin.

Then, the day came for the great escape! John and I were outside working on the house all day and the kids were enjoying playing outside in the nice weather. In the late afternoon, I came in for a quick break and found several ladybugs right inside the front door of the camper. As I was sweeping them out, was I ever surprised to find the little lizard right there by the door, too! I immediately thought that the kids had been playing with him and that was why he was out, but they both said they hadn't.

So, my hunch is that the lizard climbed up the grass, over the edge of the container, down onto the floor (a fall of about 2 ft - pretty big for a 3 inch lizard!), then across the floor to the front door. (can't you just hear the music in your head?) Not sure what his next plan was as I caught him in the middle of it. His escape plan was successful however - we ended up turning him loose to enjoy life in the great outdoors again.

Hopefully he is staying warm on these cold nights!

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Our dog, Mercy, who is normally a three-legged dog, became a two-legged dog for a short while. Probably not terribly funny for her, but it was rather amusing for us (after, of course, she recovered and we knew she was ok :). She has been down to 3 legs ever since her fall off of the 40-foot cliff when we first arrived in Alabama and she was down to 2 the other night most likely from being bit by something. Probably a no-legged critter.

When we got home from church on Sunday afternoon, she was wobbling/hobbling on two legs because one of her back legs was swollen and painful. On a side note, she is the biggest wimp of a dog ever, so it is hard to tell just how painful it really was.

We brought her in, examined her, and gave her some Benadryl. We assume it was a snake bite because by the next morning, she was fine and ready to go for a walk.

I am kicking myself for not video'ing her, though, as it was pretty funny. She can be thankful that the bite and swelled leg were on her "good" side. Not sure what she would have done if they were both bad on the same side :)