I thought Serena was too big to climb the fence or crawl under it anymore. She hadn't escaped the yard in the last 2 years. But she proved me wrong today. I found a hole dug under the fence, and Serena in the neighbor's yard on the other side. While trying to figure out how to get her back, I even caught Zorro in the act of trying to squeeze through to the other side. The hole wasn't big enough for her yet though.
The neighbors' yard is like mine. Fenced and with an unlocked but closed gate across the driveway. I had gone up to that house under similar circumstances a few years ago and rung the doorbell. There was music playing from inside, and a car in the driveway. But no one ever answered the door.
So I wasn't optimistic about better results this time. Furthermore, nowadays one has to wonder whether it is even safe to open someone's gate and walk up to their front door, much less wander into their backyard without permission, considering that people have been shot over things like that. I've waved to these particular neighbors a few times, but don't recall having ever properly met them.
So I made a note of the address on their mailbox, checked the county Tax Assessor page to find their names, and looked them up in the phonebook. Yay for listed phone numbers. Luckily, when I called, they answered and I got permission to go into their yard.
That was only the first difficulty. Once in their yard, I still couldn't get to Serena as she was under a pile of scrap metal, still barking at something and completely ignoring me.
I figured it was probably a turtle. Or maybe a snake.
Eventually, a bedraggled-looking cat ran out, and I was able to catch Serena when she came out after it.
Phew. Now I've used up my stash of 12-inch stakes refortifying that part of the fence. Must replenish the stash in case they manage to get through a different section of the fence next time.
Of course the moment I let the dogs loose again, they tested the sturdiness of my handiwork.
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-rQqQQF2UEDon't worry about that brick which Zorro got loose. The 2 underneath it are staked in. But if they attack a different section of the fence where the bricks aren't staked down, then I'm in trouble. I can only buy so many stakes at Lowes at a time
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