By the time Riley, our faithful mutt of questionable heritage, had turned 10, he had gotten very grumpy. Not with any of us, mind you, not even with any people, but with any other dog that happened by. Not wanting him to manage to hurt anyone else’s dog, I made the hard decision to sentence him to life in the fenced-in backyard.
It is not a bad life, I suppose, as prison goes. It is a pretty good-size area with a lovely shade tree to spend all day lounging around under. But it certainly is not the unlimited freedom he was used to way out in the country where we live.
Riley, though, was not our only dog at that point. There was also the ADHD/not too bright/boundless energy Labrador, Echo. When we brought Echo home as a puppy, she immediately ran under the porch and hid for the next two weeks. Then when she finally came out, she informed us in no uncertain terms that she owned the place and would forever be calling the shots.
She and Riley became fast, inseparable friends.
The day that we sentenced Riley and placed him in his domain for life, Echo was utterly bewildered. She ran the three sides of the fence repeatedly, barking, jumping and making her displeasure known.