Doggie Door

It all started one Sunday afternoon when we arrived home after church.  The back door was cracked open and both Daisy and Herman were hanging out having a house party.  Naturally, I blamed Mr. Welder for not completely closing the door as we rushed away since I am sure we were running late, which is most always the case. 

There was soon a pattern, and every day when I got home from work, Daisy wasn't in the yard waiting but in the house welcoming me as if this is how it was supposed to be.  Mr. Welder most always leaves for work after I do, so he kept getting the blame of not closing the door all the way, until that day when I left last and double checked the door.  Of course I was surprised when I arrived home early that afternoon just knowing Daisy would be waiting on the side of the house as she did before her father forgot how to close the door only to see another empty yard, cracked open door, and welcoming Daisy.

It was definitely time to investigate.  As I was asking myself questions:  How could this be?  Did Mr. Welder forget something at home and come back?  Is Daisy magic?  That is when I noticed several smudges decorating the door handle.  Yep, you guessed it.  Our Daisy was breaking and entering.

As you all know, we love Daisy and do not mind her hanging out in the house.  She sleeps at the foot of our bed on her special pillow every night, but we live in the boonies and there are critters and having our door left open all day is probably not the smartest habit to get into especially when we have a little one on the way.  We had to take drastic measures and start locking the door.  As you can see, Daisy Mae did not find this amusing and wanted us to know her thoughts.  After a few days of getting in trouble for trying to break in, she finally gave up and was back to being our sweet girl.  Thank goodness since it totally breaks my heart when she gets in trouble-it really is the saddest thing ever.  Unfortunately, getting in more trouble was on the horizon.

It started with bath night.  Daisy yearns to please and does not like to disappoint us, but one habit she has that never receives praise but she keeps up, is rolling in the dirt after a bath.  She totally does not get the point of being clean.  So after her bath, rolling in the dirt she went.  Sorry I did not take a picture but she looked like a chocolate lab.  By the time bedtime rolled around, Miss Daisy was still a mess, I had just vacuumed so we set up a pallet in the garage, gave her plenty of hugs, and called it a night.

The next day, she whined and squealed when we pet her-happy to know we did still love her. 

Since she had not been trying to break in anymore, we had become less focused on making sure the back door was locked all the time.  After all, she learned her lesson, right?  Wrong. 

I came home to this.  Wondering what was going on.  Before we left for work, we did have the front window open to let the cool breeze in, but the screen was intact and the candles were in a nice row.

This book was in the bathroom and had a cover.

That cover to be exact.  What happened while we were away at work?

Mr. Welder said when he got home the back door was slightly open with the rug bunched up. His theory is Daisy came in, couldn't get out, so Plan B was to read a book and then bust through the window screen.  After another sad scolding, the night ended with a happy family all tucked into their beds.

Only to return home the following day to this.  Yes, the back door was locked, the window was closed, but that did not stop Daisy from tearing out the screen and trying to get in anyways.

And it is so sad.  She knows she's in trouble.  She has the most tender heart.  I got in trouble too to make her feel better.  "Stop petting her, she's in trouble right now."  Guess we know who is going to be the disciplinarian in our family.  I know, I'll have to toughen up.

But it's so hard with a face like that.  I wish I could report that Daisy is back to her normal, law abiding self but we came home to a back door with smudges and scratches just yesterday, so I can't.  We have no idea what has gotten into her.  We've heard that pets can sense when a big change is about to take place.  Is she telling us that she is still going to be a part of the family when Lily arrives?  We tell her she is...because she will be.  Is she trying to prepare us for the terrible twos?  Maybe we should just be happy she is trying to break in to be with us, instead of sneaking out as teenage girls are sometimes known to do...