the beast is caged...hopefully

My list took a detour last weekend. Yes, I'm still working on said list from the previous post. I did make more soap, cookies, and wall art and started the Heritage Makers book though. I intended to work on the rest... until we had a slight issue with our big dog, Bosco.

My James has switched jobs so now BD can't go to work with him, nor do we reap the benefits dropping him off at a kennel when we need to run errands or have a night out. For the past year we've not found a good solution to keep him from getting loose while we are gone from the house. Example: The first week we had him, we ran an errand and locked him in the bathroom. We were gone for about an hour or so. When we returned home, he greeted us outside at the back gate. Yes, this monkey dog somehow hoisted himself up through the bathroom window and jumped out. It's a good 8 foot drop. He was unharmed, but the bathroom floor and door were not. It looked like a grizzly tried to scratch his way through. Since that day we have not left him alone.

Just leave him in the backyard you say...remember my lovely backyard? No way. Besides we've caught him above the waterfall standing on his hind legs peering over the fence several times. He could easily jump over and for all we know, he'd be happily on his way to find us (or anyone that would give him some lovin') and end up in the hole at the copper mine.

How bout a dog run/kennel? OK, tried it. He has escaped several time...here's the proof. Notice the snack he had out of the 1/2 inch particle board? We are in shock that his big head and chest fit through his tiny escape routes without a scratch on him! (These badly angled pictures are after multiple repairs so it's really hard to see how truly barbaric this is.)

For those who haven't met the Boss, he really is an amazing gentle giant and he's pretty well behaved considering his size and age. Great with kids. But due to most of his days filled with constant people, puppies, and other dogs, he just cannot handle being alone. And his alone time is usually brief! 8 hrs at the most once or twice a week. Why have a dog if you have to coop him up for 8-10 hours a day 5 days a week while you're at work?? (my opinion, I'm not judging you if you do this)

So for those brief hours of what BD must think are sheer torture, my dear husband built a fortress. Yes, it looks a little dark and sad and muddy at the moment, but we must remember he is a dog and loves being dirty and like I said, is briefly in it.

I sacrificed our charming area by our garage for this monstrosity:

I may have also sacrificed my beloved hollyhock and butterfly bush. The irises will be fine. They desperately needed to be divided anyway. The bleeding heart is hearty and moved to the front yard. The clematis (or whatever it is - may just be a vine-y weed for all I know) has been moved to the other side of the yard. This is probably the worst time to transplant, but it was either that or have Bosco dig them up out of spite.

Sigh. The things we do for our beloved animals... but really how could you deny this big hunk of pure mush and love anything?


PS We did provide shade for him by setting up the kennel in there with the shade screen on it. Eventually James will build a dog house and before it gets too hot we plan to string the drip system back there and hook up some misters...for the brief, but torturous moments he is actually in there.