Outsmarting Nutmeg and Nora

Nutmeg and Nora, our adorable Cairn Terrier rescues, had been watching Husband Jim stack firewood all afternoon. Eventually, it was time to let them out, but he had the garage door open. The dogs have a small fenced-in area off of the man door in the garage. So, I knew I had to shut the big garage door before I could let Nutmeg and Nora into the garage and onward to their little run.

Taking care not to let the dogs out prematurely, I opened the door from the family room just a crack, so that I could press the garage door button. Ah, I couldn’t find it. I felt all around, but it was as if it had disappeared. So I opened the door a little wider to better my view, and . . . you guess it. The two girls escaped. They ran out of the garage and into the driveway as I called, “Come back!” Yeah right. Of course, they wouldn’t come back just because I called them, not with the taste of freedom. I prepared to chase after them, but then I tried some dog psychology on them.

“Nora, want to go out?” I called excitedly.

She came right away into the garage and out the man door into the fenced area. And who was behind her? That’s right. But Nutmeg was having a hard time getting to me because Daughter Kasey’s storage items were in the way. Would she persevere and find her way? Of course. I let Nutmeg out the man door and shut it behind her. Then I walked over and pushed the garage door button on the wall. With the garage door closed, I reopened the man door and there were Nutmeg and Nora, finished with their business and ready to go back into the warm house.

Thank goodness dogs have small brains, so someone like me, with a modest human brain, can outsmart them.

P.S. Today, Nutmeg and Nora wore their new winter jackets on their walk for the first time. The jackets are now in the washing machine. Here’s a picture of them the girls styling in their new winter wear.