drunk dog

i knew an irish dog who was always losing his car after he came out of the pub. he would wander around insisting that someone had moved it when everyone knew it was only his beers that were actually hiding the car. sometimes we would watch him walk right past it while searching. we knew from experience that he would not recognize the car unless he found it himself so we never pointed it out. every time he found it he would fret over all the old dents and scratches as though he was seeing them for the first time. we laughed at him (but never with malice). usually another dog would come along and talk him out of his keys and they would trot home together stopping every few feet to sniff the air and listen for the distant howl of other dogs which they would then lift up their chins and answer in unison.