Last week, I went to the back door to let the dogs in and two of the three who were out came running in faster than usual. They both gave me those looks that said, "We don't know nuffin'." A muffled bark beckoned from around the corner of the house. Another bad sign.
So, since I already had my coat on because we were on our way to the YMCA, I ventured outside. Turns out our dog Mazda (the dirty, squinty-eyed one above) managed to dig herself a hole under the sidewalk next to our garage, piled up the dirt behind her and was stuck there for two hours while my husband and I tried to claw through the permafrost to rescue her. She was not the first to excavate in that particular spot. A half-sister and a niece have made a nice wide cavern that we keep filling up with rubble. I suppose they like the challenge, because then they just dig around it. (On a side note, this is the dogs' yard. Humans are only allowed in to mow and remove doo-doo.)
We thought about leaving her for awhile to teach her a lesson, but it was about -10 degrees with the windchill and we didn't want any of our neighbors calling the humane society on us. For an hour I scratched at the dirt with a tiny garden tool, but I could only dig deeper, not wider. I lured her with bologna, telling her how 'good' she was for every inch she wiggled out, but she could obviously sense the mounting tension in my voice that said, "I could just strangle you." So after 60 minutes of this, she had actually sucked herself deeper inside. Not what I intended.
My husband finally got a sledgehammer and dislodged one of those concrete blocks next to her. Covered in dirt, she went straight into the kennel while we resumed our plans for the day --- two hours late. In reward for her naughtiness, my daughter gave her a bath the next day. I'm sure she made the connection. Digging = bath = bad. Right?
We tell her she's rotten and she grins back at us, but for some odd reason we still love her.
I'll be checking in only sporadically over the next couple of months here, as I'll be having way too much fun in botany or anatomy class. Then, thank goodness, I'll be done with that and back to a normal life - finally!
Meanwhile, I was over recently at Kindle Author doing an interview.
Happy reading,
Gemi
2 comments:
Oh, dogs just make us gray!
A few years ago, a close friend's rather large Border Collie girl dug her way up under the porch and thence under the concrete sidewalk. The bad news was ... as she dug IN, she'd back-filled her way out, leaving only a hole big enough for us to see in.
Naturally, the dog wasn't about to turn and dig her way back out.
So, as my friend is rather a bit large for crawling in border-colie-sized holes, she called me for help. I got to crawl in there with a trenching shovel to dig the little darling out.
Oh, dogs. We love 'em, God bless 'em! ;)
Cheers ~
Gloria
Glad to know my dogs are not the only ones that do this, Gloria. I was beginning to think it was an undesirable genetic trait, but I suppose it's just a throwback to their ancestors. Still don't know why they feel the need to dig a den when they have carpeted crates in the laundry room and a nice warm house to come into. Silly dogs. At least she has her own story now.
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