It was dinnertime. Mom just served my meal, 10 minutes late mind you. As she turned towards the sink to fill my water bowl, she happened to look out the window, and saw a flash of a white fluffy, wagging tail in the woods. Faster than I could devour my dinner, the ball of fluff disappeared into the dense forest.
“Who was that?” she said with concern.
“Who was who?” asked Dad in a sentence that would make English teachers cringe.
“I saw something in the woods!” Mom responded, as Dad went to the window.
“Look! Over there! I see it! Is it an albino fox?” shouted Dad.
“Why would an albino fox be your first thought? Clearly it’s a dog.” Mom replied, with a question I have to admit I thought too.
Before Dad could respond, distracted by the mysterious trespasser, Mom headed outside, forgetting to feed Asa his dinner. In the garage, she grabbed our squeaky ball. She’s learned from previous lost dogs in our neighborhood, that no one can resist the squeaky. This includes Asa, who also had forgotten about his dinner by that point, and was happily looking out the window. Mom stood in the yard, squeaking the ball, while scanning the tree line for the mysterious white fluffy tail. But there was no response. Meanwhile Dad was inside googling, “Do foxes in Maine turn white in winter?” Which if anyone is curious, they do not. Only Arctic Foxes wear a white coat for winter. Foxes in Maine do have white tails though, but the quick glimpse they got of our visitor appeared to be all white.
Mom came inside, put on her mud boots, and headed back out towards the woods. Dad followed, still clinging to his albino fox theory. There they walked the trail. Mom, looking for a lost dog. Dad, looking for a rare fox. Neither suspect could be found. Nor could they find any trace of this mysterious visitor. Seriously? This is their response? Have they not learned anything from me this week! This wasn’t a lost dog. This wasn’t an albino fox. This was clearly an extraterrestrial shapeshifting visitor using my backyard portal to return home following Monday’s solar eclipse! A portal that I discovered in my backyard almost one year to the day, as explained in Undeniable Proof of My Kitchen Portal Theory (April 12, 2023). Coincidence? This Dog Ufologist says, “NO!”
After a thorough search, concerned and perplexed, Mom and Dad returned to the house, keeping an eye towards the woods as darkness fell. Oh and Mom eventually remembered that she forgot to feed Asa his dinner, which by then was woefully over an hour late. But did Asa mind? Not in the least! He actually seemed more surprised by his dinner than by the mysterious visitor.
