Challenge

Monday, October 28, 2024

I’ve looked repeatedly to see where my dog Chase has repeatedly escaped from the dog area. I wasn’t watching the right spot until yesterday when he went over a seemingly inescapable fence section. I saw Chase climb the six-foot, all-wire fencing, perch atop, balance to position himself, and then leap a gulley to reach a supporting surface.

That’s how he’d been managing. Knowing eased some of my frustrations, but countering his escapes from there was challenging. That section of fence needed heightening, but it’s in a high, rocky area where my footing wasn’t stable.

“One does what one must.” “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

So, in the dusky evening, I dragged a leftover roll of fencing fabric from the barn to the needy area. While self-balancing to avoid tripping over rocky jumblings, I unrolled, laid out, and wired a foot of new height onto the original fence. My work wasn’t stable before darkness prevented completing the job.

Nonetheless, after letting the dogs outside again, I watched Chase. He stayed in their area. Later, around midnight, I let the dogs out briefly, and Chase re-entered the house with his buddies.

Today, I’ll finish that section of fence-topping and then do more fixing. I saw partially dug spots where Chase wanted to crawl under the fence. His innate sense of physics makes him a great natural engineer. If Chase learned to read and write, he’d teach much and provide income for me.

Dear Friends: He’s a never-closing chapter that resists containment, needs safety. Diana