"Olaf!"
Anna heard the panicked voice before she saw it's owner. One of the other patrons of the dog park, a tall woman with white-blonde hair folded into an intricate plait-and-bun invention, was looking around and calling frantically for whom Anna assumed was her dog. Upon closer inspection, Anna could see tears clouding the woman's eyes as she called for her pet, her voice breaking slightly.
"Excuse me!" Anna called, jogging over with her own dog, a massive great dane called Sven, "Are you okay? Do you need help?"
The woman spun to face her, still panicked. "No, I mean, yes! Olaf has gone missing! He saw a rabbit and slipped out of his harness! He was too fast! I couldn't-"
It was clear that the woman was becoming more upset by the second. "Hey," Anna soothed, "Its okay, we'll find him together. What does he look like?"
The woman rubbed her temples with trembling fingers. "He's small, about this big," She gestured with her hands as she spoke, "And white, with red eyes."
"An albino, huh? Okay, shouldn't be too hard to spot, huh? Which way did he run?"
The woman pointed in the direction of the densely wooded area of the park. "I was hoping...if I called out, he'd come back...I couldn't...I don't like closed spaces so much..." The woman broke off, her face flaming with shame. Anna smiled gently.
"I understand. How about you stay out here and keep an eye out whilst Sven and I go search in there?" She pointed a thumb over her shoulder at the woods. The woman nodded feebly. Anna's heart went out to her. If Sven was the one missing Anna would be distraught. "I'm sure we'll find him." She insisted, patting the woman's shoulder soothingly. "Come on Sven, time for a search and rescue mission!"
Sven's tail wagged happily. He had no idea what they were doing but he was sure it would be fun! He followed his red-headed person into the trees, enjoying the myriad of new scents as they tickled his nose.
"Okay, what did she say his name was? Olaf?" Anna asked herself. "Olaf! Come here boy!" She glanced at Sven for a second, "You should be sniffing around, trying to pick up his scent or something..." Sven cocked an ear and then trotted over to the nearest tree to indeed have a sniff around. "That's rig-" Anna cut off as Sven picked up his leg and marked the tree as his own. "Thanks, pup, big help." Anna groused, though not seriously. Sven had always been more of a lapdog than a hunting dog and to this day still insisted on trying to sit in Anna's lap whenever possible. "Come on." She said, patting Sven between the ears.
They walked further into the trees, Anna calling out the name of her quarry every few moments in the hopes of hearing an answering bark. She heard nothing for almost ten minutes, and then there was a sudden rustling of leaves to the left of her. Excitedly, she called Olaf's name again, feeling triumphant at the thought of delivering the dog back to his distraught owner. Sven pawed the ground beside her, his ears pricked with anticipation. He could hear the rustling too.
Anna was unprepared for the flash of white as something leapt from the bushes, heading straight for her. The only things she could determine was that it was definitely not a dog, and it was fast. Sven was the first to react, letting out an excited yip and bounding forward to meet the creature head on. Seeing the massive dog coming towards it, the thing smoothly changed direction, first jumping to the right of Sven and then darting beneath his belly and taking off the way Anna and Sven had entered the woods. Sven didn't wait for his person's orders. He took off after the creature, his big paws thumping the ground and his robust voice ringing out as he gave chase.
"Sven! Get back here! We're supposed to be - oh, damn it." Admitting defeat, Anna broke into a run and followed the trail of destruction her clumsy dog had left in his wake. Now there were two missing dogs to find!
Outside the woods, Olaf's owner continued to call out for her missing pet, feeling more and more nauseas as time went by. Olaf was small and he couldn't swim. Any number of things could have happened to him. She clutched his harness to her chest, silently willing him to come back to her. When she heard barking and the sound of twigs and branches being pulled apart and broken she was gripped by a sense of dread. It was only when something white bounded out of the forest that she felt her heart begin to beat again. She sank to her knees and thrust out her arms. "Olaf!" She called. The creature heard her and, with a noise like no other animal could make, sprinted in her direction. Beyond her pet she saw the great dane of the helpful woman burst through the trees in pursuit, and then not long after, the woman herself, leaves and twigs caught in her now bedraggled red hair. She was calling her dog's name with a stern voice. The dog was taking no notice.
"Hurry, Olaf!" She called, fearing for her pet's safety. When Olaf was close enough he leapt into her outstretched arms, finding purchase on her sleeves and climbing to the safety of her shoulders.
"Sven! Stop right there!" Sven finally registered the voice and tone of his owner and, regretfully abandoning his prey, he turned to face the wrath of his person.
"Bad dog, no treats for you tonight!" Anna scolded, making the big dog lower his head and whimper. Anna turned to the owner she had been trying to help. "I'm so sorry, we didn't find your dog and Sven got distracted by this thing and..." Anna's eyes finally took in the sight before her. The thing that she had been referring to was sat on the woman's shoulder and was giving her cheek a good tongue bath. The woman's joy was obvious. This was Olaf?
"Oh, I, um, what is...that? I mean he, what is he?"
The woman looked up, startled for a moment as if she'd forgotten Anna was there. She smiled and Anna found she liked to see the woman smiling instead of frowning with worry.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Olaf is a ferret." The woman chuckled, "And a mischievous one at that." She smiled affectionately at her pet. Olaf turned his red eyes on Anna, eyes that seemed to convey intelligence.
"'He's beautiful." Anna commented with a smile.
"Thank you, and thanks for helping me find him, Miss...?"
"Oh, Anna, my name is Anna." Anna thrust out a hand to shake.
"Hello Anna, my name is Elsa." The woman said, taking the hand with a smile.