Gone Walkabout

Our dog we've raised from a puppy loves to get out of his fenced pen and sit on the front steps. He's always stayed close to the house and if he's off the step we know he's not far; like within 30ft. On Sunday he decided to go walkabout. We let him out after we got home from church and he ran to the steps like usual. He settled down on the top step and we proceeded to change clothes and fix lunch. After a bit hubby decided to go out and Bear, our dog, wasn't on the step. He called him and he didn't come. Granted he's getting a bit hard of hearing, Bear that is, we can usually see him at least. We even drove up and down our road to see if he took off after a bicycle. One of our feeble attempts to try to figure out why and where he would've gone. Didn't see him at all. We came home and later were outside talking to some friends. I had asked them if they had seen him on their way over and got a negative response. While we were talking Bear showed up. He had some grass seeds in his fur and seemed a bit tired but that was it. He came from behind our barn so we still aren't sure if he had gone down the road or off into the field. He was happy to see everyone and we were happy to see him. Never the less, he ended up back in his pen for the evening.