This is Dover, Blue and I yesterday.

(We're camping out in the mountains. That's Dovey on the right.)

At 4:30 AM the boys started dancing around so I opened the door and let them out for a leak. After a few minutes I opened the door to let them back in but they were busy running around the campsite.

I waited a bit longer and they were gone.

We figured they were probably just tooling around their new backyard and went back to sleep for a bit. It was still a couple of hours until breakfast for them and Dover never misses a meal.

(I was holding a pack of sausages to get him to look up. He sure loves sausages)

They usually eat at 7 AM and Dover starts whining at around 6:45 to let you know that he's there and waiting.

Today he didn't show up. Neither of them did. We walked and drove around honking, whistling and yelling, but there was no sign of them.

Then it started to pour rain. It's still raining eleven hours later.

We noticed that both of our cell phones were dead so we drove the sixty kilometres to the highway and went to the closest gas station to get a charger and some more food. We thought that they would surely be back when we returned to camp. We left the tent up and laid out a mat and some water for them, so we were expecting them to be sleeping there when we arrived.

They weren't, but Blue was in the bushes crying and barely able to walk. He was scuffed up pretty bad, but it doesn't feel like anything is broken and there are no lacerations or anything. He's resting now.

I took Blue in the truck and we went looking for Dover again. Every time I would yell for Dovey, Blue would cry and howl a bit. It was like he was trying to tell me something.

It's times like this that my imagination starts to take over. Probably to keep me from getting overwhelmed and start crying in the middle of a possible crisis.

It started with a conversation between Blue and I while driving. I had asked him where his brother was, and he came back with several replies.

Here are a few:

• A bear attacked us and Dover was slower.

• We were running and I dared Dover to jump off the cliff into a puddle. I didn't think he would do it.

• He was running really fast and had a heart attack.

• Some creepy guy in a van gave him some treats and offered him a ride. I told him they were the sleepy treats but he just said "Treats are treats." Then he climbed in and waved as they drove away.

• He found a raft and went fishing.

• He killed a cougar and said that he wasn't leaving until he ate the whole thing.

These crazy thoughts gave me a little comfort and a few chuckles. I always have fun making Blue's voice. I was just joking around with myself because I figured that I was going to round a corner and he would be sitting by the road, but he never was.

It's now two missed meals and we're well into his first night alone since we brought him home from the pound three years ago.

We feel pretty bad about all the jokes we made when Blue used to run away.

Jokes about "the heir and the spare" and looking Dover dead in the eye and saying "How come you never run away?" or "Why couldn't it be you?"

Of course we didn't mean it. Dover has really grown on us and has been turning into a real boy over the last year. He's learned how to play instead of yelping and shying away when you make a sudden move towards him. He has quit allowing Blue to dominate him all the time and has stood up to him on many occasions. He has also severely cut the amount of urine that he spreads around inside the house.

In short, he started out as a charity case, abused rescue, but became our dog. Not just our dog, but a member of our family.

Thanks for reading this far. It's getting late so I have to carry Blue out for a pee and see if I have any vocal cords left for a few last hollers before bed.

I hope the rain stops by morning. It sure doesn't help anything right now. We can't really hear anything and he probably can't either.

Please come back, Dovey-doo. We really need to know that you are okay.