La Diabla, rescued by a local businessman and his wife, finds a loving home and fulfilling career as hostess of the Old Town Wine Cellar. This is the story of how she wandered away from the Wine Cellar one evening during a wine tasting event. Suffering from a case of Followshernoseitis she gets lost and spends the next 13 months traveling with a homeless gentleman. He takes her under his wing, feeding and caring for her while they traveled across the desert to Quartzsite. Read how she meets and greets the fascinating animals who roam the desert, the various snowbirds who frequent the desert in the winter, and eventually finds her way home. La Diabla The Wine Cellar Dog By La Diabla AuthorHouse Copyright © 2011 La Diabla All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4567-5492-1 Chapter One The Adventure Begins ... Hi, I'm Diabla, and this is the story of how I came to be known as the "Wine Cellar Dog." It's also the story of how much trouble I can get into without even trying. I've had quite a number of adventures so far, so listen up while I tell you my story. I was born right here in Yuma, Arizona, somewhere out on the desert; I can't quite remember where exactly. Mom was a Corgi, I think, and Dad was well ... a handsome dark furred travelin' man. Anyway, I wandered away from home one sunny afternoon and found myself ambling along next to the canal that runs by Avenue A. It was a hot day, and I got lost because, as usual, I was following my nose and not watching where I was going. I was trying to keep up with this funny little butterfly as it flitted here and there from ground to bush to flower to cactus and I lost track of where I was and where I was going. Well, like I said, it was a really hot day in July and I was getting thirsty and hungry. That's when I saw two boys running along the canal. They were laughing and throwing sticks and rocks into the water. It looked like they were having lots of fun, so I ran up to join them thinking maybe they'd give me some water and food, and maybe even play with me. Boy oh Boy was that ever a BIG mistake. They weren't nice boys at all, but I didn't know that until it was too late. This is probably the worst and best part of my story. In fact, my whole story as well as my life could have ended right here. When I grabbed a two-foot long stick that the boys had dropped and ran up to give it to them one of the boys grabbed it and began to tug on it. We played tug o' war for a while until he got mad and let go of the stick. I was so close to the edge of the canal that when he let go, my feet slipped over the edge and "Splash", I fell into the water. I was really scared. The current was pulling me along so fast I could hardly hold onto the stick. The boys thought it was so funny to see me struggling to stay afloat. I couldn't understand why they wouldn't help me instead of laughing at me. They were throwing rocks into the water just to see them splash next to me. They were cruel, and I was scared. Then, just when I felt I could not keep my head above water one moment longer, I hit a pile of dirt and branches that had built up along one side of the canal. With my short legs, I struggled to scramble and climb to get to the top of the dirt pile and out of the water. Finally, one of the boys reached down and grabbed the stick I still held in my mouth and pulled me up onto the bank of the canal. Once I got close to the edge, he grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and pulled me out of the water. I thought I was safe now and shook the water off of my coat. But the minute I stopped shaking, one of the boys scooped me up, called me stupid and threw me over a fence into the backyard of a house that backed up to the canal. It was getting dark, and as I sailed over the fence all I could see was the light coming from the glass doors at the back of the house. I heard the boys run off laughing as they left me to the night. I landed painfully in a thorny old bougainvillea bush. "Ouch," I whined and cried; every move I made caused me to be poked somewhere with a thorn. When I looked out from the bush I saw two huge dogs, a lab and a retriever named Joe and Trent who were looking out the window. From the noise they made I knew I had caught their attention. They looked really big and pretty hungry to me and I shivered with apprehension. I struggled to get out of the bush to no avail. "Ouch!" That's when I saw Elizabeth. Of course, I didn't know that was her name at the time, but eventually she became my angel of mercy. Unfortunately, when she opened the glass door just enough to let her dogs out, and to see what they were barking at, they immediately made a rush for the bush where I was stuck. They were barking and snarling and trying very hard to get to me. Luckily, I was just out of reach. Elizabeth came rushing out of the house calling for her neighbors to help her hold back Joe and Trent and get them corralled back in the house. Whew, it was a close call, but