Outsmarting Rosie

A hellacious windstorm blew through my town recently and a huge Douglas Fir tree toppled in its wake. It fell straight down my property line and took out 100 ft of my fence. The porch roof was damaged but I counted myself fortunate that it didn’t land on my house. The butt is six-foot in diameter, I stopped measuring it at 76 ft with a six-inch diameter. Big, big tree. Just so you know, according to the insurance company the property owner where a tree lands has the liability. So its up to me to get rid of this behemoth. And replace the fence. And repair the porch roof. With a cash influx from the insurance company minus my deductible.

My neighbor helped me put up some temporary fencing on either side of the porch so the dogs wouldn’t be able to climb out over the tree. This didn’t work at all as both dogs jumped off the porch rail onto the lawn.

Much to my dismay Rosie discovered an escape route. On two separate occasions she took off when I was out in the yard. I called her name, she turned and looked at me, then took a flying leap over the tree and away she went. What a brat. For a week now she’s been chained when outside. The forlorn little thing has that chain stretched taut trying to make a break for another chance at freedom.

I have a dog containment system which I hadn’t installed as the entire property is fenced. Was fenced… I located all the components after much searching (I found my bicycle shoes, my baseball mitt, AND my missing childhood photo album!) except the plug that connects the controller to the wire circuit. I flashed back on disconnecting the system when I moved – the plug was wired through a wall - in a fit of impatience I just cut the mother. Yeah, rather a dumb move in hindsight. Particularly since it is quite small and easily lost… After a couple stops at the local hardware and automotive stores I did the smart thing and located a dealer some 50 miles distant. And scored the part for $10. I wired a temporary circuit blocking the downed tree and placed white flags (a visual reminder for the dogs) along its path. I got everything plugged in and tested the system with a dog collar. Beep, beep, beep. Success! I collared and leashed Rosie and walked her over to the flags. She did not want to get anywhere near them. It’s been two years since we moved and she clearly remembered! Her escape path is blocked. That escape path anyway.

She immediately went to the front of the house and CLIMBED up the porch rail (5 ft from ground level). When I caught her she was contemplating jumping over the hedges lining the porch to reach the tree. I planted more of those white flags along the porch – and that was the end of that. Hopefully she doesn’t test the system!