On my drive home I was anxiously hoping Briar would be around. Earlier, my neighbor told me had come and gone in the AM and hadn't seen him all day. Trying not to allow for disappointment, I forced myself into thinking "he's probably fine, he's probably going to be out and about and hopefully he'll come home sometime tonight".
I arrived home around 8pm. It was pretty dark. I called for Briar only once as I loaded my shoulders with luggage. I barely could open the gate with my free finger... and SURPRISE!!! There was a little Briar waiting for me inside the gate. He sat there and looked at me in wonderment... "Where have YOU been? I've been here this WHOLE time!"
I gave him lots of pets and a special treat of tuna. He was dirty and left a dust spot on the couch so I gave him a bath. He was still super happy I was home and slept by me all night.