We caught Buddy today, after several months and many attempts. We first caught him in the big trap on August 8th. Even though it had a fabric cover, he climbed up the six foot wall of the trap and chewed through the cover to escape. We tried again about a week ago, but he looked at the trap and figured out how everything works. We tried yesterday, but he dashed out before the door could close. Today, he was very cautious of the trap, knowing full well how it works. He probably figured he could dash out the door faster than it would close. He didn’t know we had added bungee cords to make it close much faster. He circled the trap dozens of times, and he would go in for the cheeseburgers a little farther each time. When he finally went all the way back for the cheeseburgers, Dina gave me the signal, and I released the rope holding the door open. The door slammed shut faster than Buddy could get out, and we finally had him trapped. He tried to climb out the top again, but we had plywood on top this time. Once secured in the large trap, I went inside with him and scooted him into the regular 48 inch trap for transportation. Buddy is finally off the streets and safe. If you are interested in fostering or adopting Buddy, he may be a challenge. He doesn’t appear to have ever lived indoors before, and he can climb or jump almost any fence. He is a sweet dog, and he will make a great companion for the right person.
When we got home, I took the dogs for a walk. Every time I take Mu, Fozzie, Sky, and Tino our for a walk, they all say, “What are these strange leash things? We have no idea how to walk on leashes. It’s not like we’ve done it 972,746 times before.” We walk three feet and get tangled. Another three feet and get tangled, ad nauseum. We are coming back from the walk, and I get half way up the driveway and we are tangled again. I go to sort out the leashes, but I only have three. I’m missing the blue leash. Sky is gone. In the fraction of a second it takes me to turn around, I imagine she’s gone running around the neighborhood chasing squirrels. Instead, I see her at the base of the driveway, 80 feet away, looking sad, with her leash just as it must have fallen. She looks like she’s thinking, “Why did you abandon me?” Silly Sky.