Jun 29, 2014
Attempted home invasion & a moment of panic
A brief update on my eye, it is really no better. I have been able to pinpoint that using the computer is what creates the pain. I’ve tried keeping the blind behind the computer closed and even wearing sunglasses but it does not help. I can read and watch TV with no problem. I use the computer a lot during the day, I have never timed it but I’m sure I can be on it up to six hours or more. If I only use the computer for a few moments I am fine. So for the past several days in order to keep computer use to a minimum, I’ve put the blog and most blog reading and commenting aside and concentrated on dealing with our business priorities. However frequent breaks are the only way to cope and even some days I can’t work at all. Due to the holiday weekend I will be unable to contact my eye doctor until Wednesday to find out what the next step will be. Poor Colin put up with my new hip all last summer and now this. At least I’m getting the invoices out. Bottom line is that if I don’t use the computer at all, ( I did that for a full 24 hours ) my eye is fine. Time is a great healer but somehow I have to work out a compromise. I’m posting this by taking many breaks which is not practical for the future. One day at a time.
Now onto the home invasion. A few days ago early in the morning I was checking the news and the weather on the computer ( of course ) when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a something moving on the lawn and then it stopped and just looked at me through the window. By the time I jumped up and got my camera it had moved away from the front steps.
I looked over to the back steps and saw something at the door, trying to get it. I was too surprised to get a better shot.
...and there it was at the doggie door. Thank goodness the patio door was closed.
This is what the critter looked like. Gopher photo courtesy of the internet.
The girls were still sleeping but caught the excitement in my voice as I called to Colin to come and "look", a word they know well. By the time I moved to the patio door the girls were at my heels barking at the top of their lungs. The gopher turned and jumped down between the landing and the glass rail and scampered off. It was raining out ( and still is ), perhaps he wanted to come in and get warm.
I let the girls out and they immediately found where he had exited the yard. We have a 3' mesh screen that the hedge has grown over ( which is why you can't see it ) so the girls can't get out of the yard.
They quickly picked up the scent.
It was pouring rain and they just kept following the scent and refused to come in.
Finally they came in and got dried off. Some of you will know that doxies don't like being out in the rain but this was too much of an adventure for these hounds to pass up.
It was a challenge to get them to come and eat breakfast. Minutes later they took up their lookout positions. They stayed there for over and hour and later when the rain stopped they kept up the search in the yard.
Yesterday while Colin was out doing a shoot, I suddenly realized that I only had one dog. I called and called for Caeli even offering the favorite bribe of all, ‘cookies’! No dog. Meanwhile the wind had started to pick up and the rain started, yet again. In a panic I called Colin. Of course he couldn’t help me but I felt better that he knew she was missing. I was just about to call security here in the park when I remembered that she used to go visit Robert & Michele, so I called them instead and sure enough she was there. They brought her back once the rain stopped. Later both Colin and I checked the perimeter of the yard and could find no escape route.
Then just an hour ago, as the rain started really coming down ( yes it’s still raining ) as in cats & dogs I again did a head count and Caeli was missing. The thing is, is that I has seen her in her bed just a few minutes earlier. There was a loud crack of thunder and I had gone to check on Carmeh and then discovered that Caeli was missing. Both Colin and I searched the house and the yard. She wasn’t here. We called Robert & Michele and they were not home.
By now it was a torrential downpour and so loud on the roof that we could hardly hear each other over the din. Look at the water coming down the rain chain.
Colin got his raincoat on and headed out to find our baby. Once again I was in a panic, mostly because it was so nasty outside.
He found her coming home from up the block, not the direction she usually goes.
She was so wet and cold. We put her in a warm tub to bathe her and heat her.
So it is obvious that she has an escape route which we have to find pronto. If the rain ever stops (sigh ) the plan is for me to go out of the yard and call for her to come and get some cookies. Meanwhile Colin will be observing her and discover the hole in our totally fenced in yard. The only time the girls have escaped has been because of someone leaving the gate open or a worker opening a gap in the fence and forgetting to close it. I am beginning to wonder if the gopher might have chewed a hole in the plastic mesh. That will be the first place we check 😐
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Sorry you are still having problems working on the computer,hopefully your eye guy will have some solutions for you. I know the feeling when you can’t find one of the dogs. It is supposed to dry out this week.
Oh, the little stinker!!! We went to the ‘farm’ today and Luci was not able to sleep all day as she usually does and is exhausted 🙂 Sure zonked out now…
It always amazes me how alike they all are….
I had “recurrent erosion syndrome” of the cornea once many years back. I hope this is not one of the many things we have in common! It did go away eventually, and never came back. It has been so long ago, the only part of the treatment regimen I can recall was a pressure patch for a few days…
Keep feeling better!
Suzanne
Good luck with your eye issues and finding the escape route from your yard.
Finally a sunny day here in the lower mainland!
Hopefully it will come your way…
Caeli sure has a planned escape route, doxies were designed to go into narrow places.
But how can you get angry at a face like that!?
Hope your eye is better soon. I’m so far behind reading posts because I was at the lake. It is definitely scary when one of the “kids” gets out of the yard. Glad they were both okay.