Post #5: Spike's Fence

Spike matured, she became family.  Of course, she was the family member who had to live in the back yard.  And she was the family member that was tied to a lead during the day and let loose at night.  We felt she needed to be allowed some freedom to run.  Night seemed to be a good time to let her loose, as she could watch our whole house, and she would not bother any of the neighbors.  We thought all was well, and everyone was happy with this arrangement.

Our neighbors eventually clued us in that they were not happy about Spikes nighttime wanderings.  We unleashed her in the evening with the belief that she would stay out of trouble.  She was such a good dog, after all.

Our neighbor complained of missing flip-flops, and another let us know subtly that it was Spike who was probably stealing our newspaper.  They were almost too subtle, for me.  I think like a guy, after all, and guys usually don’t pick up on “subtle.”  Just ask any woman who has tried to give a guy a hint about how their behavior annoys them.  Like a lot of men, it generally takes a direct statement for me to “get it.”  However, I finally figured out that it really was Spike who was causing all this mischief in our neighborhood.
Once this sunk in, we did the right thing and built a fence around our backyard.  Everyone was happier.  Even Spike was happier.  She no longer had to be tied up during the day.