The great escape

I arrived home to a welcome committee of one last night: Monte was waiting for me in the driveway. 

No, he didn’t escape his crate and figure out how to turn doorknobs then push the garage door button. 

When the weather’s nice, we try to leave Monte outside.  For one, that means he’s not stuck in his crate for 10 hours.  Two, it helps him have less energy in the evenings when, frankly, we’re tired and cranky and don’t have the energy to deal with his.  We can take him on a long walk and it’s still not enough.

So Monte spends some days in the backyard stretching his legs while the fresh air wears him out.  We all win.

But back to last night.  Monte was wet and muddy and very ready to get inside for some dinner.  I checked all four gates and didn’t see any open, and I did a quick look-around for any holes big enough for a 120-lb dog but didn’t find any.  We were wondering if maybe a meter reader or the lawn guy came and accidentally let Monte out and maybe didn’t realize it when they left and closed the gate behind them.

Well, I missed seeing that one of the side gates wasn’t secured.  The McHusband found that out when he went to get Monte once Connor was down, and Monte was nowhere in the backyard.  Luckily, he hadn’t ventured far and came straight to the McHusband, much to his chagrin when he found out why the McHusband wanted him.

It was bathtime.  Not Monte’s favorite.

Anyway, all the gates are closed up tight, Monte is safe and clean, and we are very thankful that he stayed close to home and waited for us to come home.

And he’s in the crate for the rest of the week mostly to preserve his cleanliness but also for our peace of mind knowing that when we get home from work, he’s going to be where we left him that morning.

Happy Hump Day!