A Good Dog

Yes, I’ve said this before and I’m saying it again. Luci is indeed the best dog ever.

Yesterday, while I was doing yard  work, I noticed the gate in the picture was bent back and there was a wide gap between the cuff and the post it grips. Because the cuff never gripped the post very well, I have big rocks, one on each side of the gate, so it won’t open inward or outward.

So, the gate was still closed, but the way it was bent yesterday, the gap was wide enough that Luci could have easily slipped out. For a moment, I thought she had. But then I looked behind me and saw her lying on the patio. I was so proud that I immediately told her, “Good dog, Luce.”

I don’t know how long the gate was like that. Definitely more than a day, possibly more than a week. Luci has been spending a lot of time in the backyard. She could have gone out through that gap anytime and she didn’t.

I shouldn’t be so surprised. She doesn’t even follow me out through the front gate unless I tell her, “C’mon, Luce.”

I managed to straighten the gate a bit, and then my dad came over and helped me straighten it better. But I’m still WTFed about it. How can this gate get bent like that? It was like folded down and back. I don’t think the wind could have done that, so I’m suspicious.

I think someone bent the gate on purpose. Why might they have done that? Possibly so they can cox my dog out and steal her. My friend Megan’s dog was recently stolen and my friend Brooke’s dog was stolen a couple years ago. Also, someone stole two dogs from my mom and dad about ten or fifteen years ago.

Dognapping is a reality. While I hope that’s not what this was about, I don’t have anything else of value in my backyard that isn’t locked up in the shed. I ought to hang BEWARE OF OWNER signs on the fence.

I’m not one of those gun owners who will shoot to kill anyone who enters their territory. But, if I ever see someone trying to steal my dog, I won’t let them leave until the police take them away.