Too much encroachment

Alright, we're due for another Cayman post. Oh, our dog knows how to get into trouble. I think it's the innate nature of a beagle to put their noses into other people's business. Our dog is VERY MUCH a Beagle with a captial B. Yesterday, she went a tad too far...

Last night, she decided to jump the fence (which is 6 ft tall, if you've forgotten) to visit our neighbor's dog, Katy. Now, this is the neighbor of our direct neighbor, so the dog's yard is two fences over. And to give further explanation, we share a fence with our direct neighbor, but there is a 2-3 ft gap between our neighbor's fence and Katy's fence. Cayman usually jumps onto our neighbor's fence, balances on all fours to get her bearings, and then leaps the gap into Katy's yard, sort of landing and rolling at the same time. We've seen it done and it's pretty amazing.

So, Katy had been gone for about a week while her folks were on vacation and they all arrived home yesterday. Well, Cayman decided she wanted to pay Katy a visit, so she jumped our fence, did her balancing act on the neighbors fence, yet failed to clear the gap into Katy's yard and got herself hung up on the fence (which there's is about a 4-ft fence). My neighbor said that Cayman cried and cried and finally wriggled herself free of the fence. Now, my neighbor is a major dog lover and she would do anything for just about anyone's dog, so I know Cayman's cries about broke her heart. Anyway, as soon as Cayman was free, she tore up Katy's deck, greated everyone, and then decided to partake in Katy's food. Now, not only had Katy just gotten home from a trip, she hadn't seen her owners in a week as well. So, when another dog entered her territory AND ate her food, Katy was not happy. So, she sort of attacked Cayman. According to Mary (my neighbor) it was a brawl. Cayman got a nice cut on her eye from where Katy bit, which started to swell last night and then started oozing this morning.

I promptly called the vet at 7:30am, who only had time in the late morning to see Cayman, which met I had to take her and the kids to the vet. I knew it would be a crazy experience, and it was. But, the dog and the kids did very well. And we had minimal screaming from Mallory, who was fine once she realized she wasn't the one getting checked. So, after a good eye cleaning and an exam letting me know that it was just a cut on the eye lit w/ no eye damage or any other internal injuries from the fence-hanging experience, I walked out the vet 20 minutes later with a purse full of medication that we'll have to administer of the next 7 days and a surprisingly calm dog and wonderfully behaved children.

(Notice Cayman's legs sticking out from under the bed? That's where she goes when she's either tired or wants to be left alone, both of which are true in this case)

Patrick asked me if I think Cayman learned her lesson about jumping the fence. I quickly answered no. She will encroach and encroach until she reaches her final destination in life. That is for sure.