Presents and an Update

The puppies got a surprise present in the mail from their Uncle Adam this week:

Hank was so excited he tore open the box himself when Patrick let the room for a moment (I guess he remembered the smell . . . ?). So far they have only been allowed to play with (aka slowly destroy) one, but they just may get another one or two in their Easter basket.

Update on Dagny the escape artist:

• We had to order more electric fence wire (which took over two weeks), so in the meantime, she only got “supervised potty breaks.”
• Then, after we put it down along the left neighbor’s wall, she decided to jump the (almost 6 foot) back wall and explore the alley at her leisure (and then whine at the gate to be let back in when she was done) . . . yeah. So we stretched the fence farther.
• Well, then she decided that it would be really super duper fun to go visit her other friend - the neighbor on the right side. He also loves our dogs too and also comes to greet them daily over the wall, but he has two dogs (one being a sweet but HUGE white German Shepherd), so we thought there was no way Dags would go over there - territory and all that.

• Wrong. One day when I called her she, all of a sudden, emerged from behind the garage walking along the (also much taller) wall. I was suspicions, but I just couldn’t believe she actually was over there, so I ignored it for the moment.
• A few days later: I called her, heard a rusting coming from across the wall, and then saw her pop up on top of the wall wagging her tail - “hello!” I started scolding her and said to "get down" . . . and with that she jumped down . . . back to the other side of the wall! Don’t say she isn’t smart. After some coaxing and lying about how she was such a wonderful doggie and I’d give her treats, she finally came back over. It was particularly impressive because there are “trees” that grow almost right up to the wall, so the leap up/down is pretty much completely vertical. Anyway, I (vainly) though that maybe it was only a one time thing but called and asked Patrick to move the fence when he got back from Chicago anyway.
• I was talking to that neighbor a little later (who is from Austin and very nice, obviously), and Dagny jumped up on the wall right in front of me to greet him (straight up at least 5 feet). I told him we were gonna stretch the electric fence all the way around because she kept getting up on the walls, to which he responded - “Oh, yeah she comes over here all the time.” So . . . I apologized to a neighbor for the millionth since getting our little angels. Although, since his response, was . . . “oh, but I try not to encourage her,” I’m pretty sure he didn’t mind it too much!
• Nevertheless, when Patrick got home, he stretched the fence (almost) all the way around, so now poor little Dags has to stay in her own yard and cannot go on her daily visits to see her many adoring fans. P.S. In case anyone thinks we are dumb for not just encircling the whole yard . . . it’s kind of complicated.