Bobik the Second

Sometime early Saturday morning between midnight and 7:00 am Zvonik disappeared. I noticed at daybreak when I went outside that he didn't crawl out of his nest to greet me but didn't look for him. By 7:00 Ksenia was hunting high and low for him. Papa said he noticed the gate was open. There was also a hole in the fence he could have crawled through.

The accepted explanation is that he was outside the fence when people in the town/village (Beli Yar has 12,000 people) were taking their cows to pasture and simply picked him up. It is plausable and I hope it is true.

By noon he was replaced by the next door neighbours' spare 6 month old puppy and named Bobik. By Sunday night he had explored the entire yard, was thoroughly at home and practicing his bark. I ignored him. He barked at me. He barked at the cats. He stole a shoe and chewed on others, not significantly, just enough to be noticed. He slept in the shade all day and when I went out at night, came bouncing up to be played with. He will do.