Heart-In-Mouth Oops
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 11:16 pm
Either since I can't get Thor to be reliable at the sight of another dog or if no one could, we take precautions. One is that we have double-gates in the back (which started with another dog we had). The outside chain-link gate is padlocked because folks don't understand that a gate is supposed to keep everyone out unless invited (dogs or not). The inside gate is part of the stockade; we live behind a swamp, so the earth and fence are constantly shifting; that gate is secured to a post with a thick leather belt. Part of all this is because of the dogs we take in. Another part is because even well-meaning people do dumb things.
Last week, I came home and saw the padlock off the outer gate. Husband forgot. I locked it.
This week, I let Thor out to do his business. If I'm not out with him, I keep my eye on him. Except this time. This time I didn't. Then I heard his crazed five-alarm bark (like a dog was walking past
)...but it sounded far away. My heart sank. I bolted outside, saw the inside gate was open...and all I knew was, at the least, Thor was at the outside gate, but he may be beyond it...he's fully capable of jumping that chain-link without even trying.
He was out of my sight, I stayed calm, and he immediately recalled. When he came through the inside gate, we both went in the house like nothing had happened. (The husband forgot to strap the belt around the pole when he'd mowed the lawn.)
My point is this is all a matter of habit to us, yet a padlock didn't get locked one week, a gate didn't get "belted" another week...so we can't rely on habits, or our spouses or children, to make sure that the precautions we take are always taken. I used to work in an AZA-accredited zoo, and experience and habit still didn't take the place of keeping your mind on task. Always.
Always. Mind. On. Task.
Every single time the husband has reason to open those gates, I ask if both gates are locked. I didn't ask the last two times, resulting in both gates in two weeks being left unlocked. Whatever you have to do to keep your animals safe, do it...without fail...no matter how much it might sound like you don't trust someone to do what they know they should. It's more about backing each other up than it is about trust, because mistakes and oversights do happen.
Last week, I came home and saw the padlock off the outer gate. Husband forgot. I locked it.
This week, I let Thor out to do his business. If I'm not out with him, I keep my eye on him. Except this time. This time I didn't. Then I heard his crazed five-alarm bark (like a dog was walking past
)...but it sounded far away. My heart sank. I bolted outside, saw the inside gate was open...and all I knew was, at the least, Thor was at the outside gate, but he may be beyond it...he's fully capable of jumping that chain-link without even trying. He was out of my sight, I stayed calm, and he immediately recalled. When he came through the inside gate, we both went in the house like nothing had happened. (The husband forgot to strap the belt around the pole when he'd mowed the lawn.)
My point is this is all a matter of habit to us, yet a padlock didn't get locked one week, a gate didn't get "belted" another week...so we can't rely on habits, or our spouses or children, to make sure that the precautions we take are always taken. I used to work in an AZA-accredited zoo, and experience and habit still didn't take the place of keeping your mind on task. Always.
Always. Mind. On. Task.
Every single time the husband has reason to open those gates, I ask if both gates are locked. I didn't ask the last two times, resulting in both gates in two weeks being left unlocked. Whatever you have to do to keep your animals safe, do it...without fail...no matter how much it might sound like you don't trust someone to do what they know they should. It's more about backing each other up than it is about trust, because mistakes and oversights do happen.