 | Last night was bone chilling cold (it still is), and even though two of our dogs adore this cold weather we had them all inside. Douglas and Jovie were to spend the kitchen, and seemed content when we went up to bed. Douglas has a bad habit of barking to go out to his house around 3:00 AM, and last night was no different. I dragged myself out of bed, put on some boots, and flipped up the hood of my sweatshirt. It was about -20° out, and with the windchill much colder, but Douglas has a warm house with a mattress to sleep on, plus his super heavy coat, so I was not worried. |
An hour or so later I heard him barking, it was muffled so I figured he was in his house barking at the wind. When his barking continued I suited up again to bring him back into the house. I only had my jammies, a hooded sweatshirt, and boots, since it was to be a quick trip out to the pen and back in.
However, the gate to the pen was open, and Douglas was down by the animals, incessantly barking at Olaf (the mini horse) and the rabbit. I ran to him, and called for him, but he shimmied under the chicken coop out of my reach. I didn’t have a flashlight so I couldn’t see much, and Douglas made no move to come out from under the coop.
Keep in mind how cold it was, and how I was not dressed for the frigid temps.
Finally, Douglas crawled out from under the chickens, and I was able to grab his collar. As soon as I got a hold of him he started to run to the house. Normally this would not have been a problem, but considering much of the yard is iced over, it was a bit of a precarious trek.
When the back porch was within sight I felt myself losing my balance on the ice, and I swear, it was a slow motion fall. I was slipping, and running, and right when I felt like I was gaining control...I went down. I surprisingly managed to keep a hold of Douglas, and was able to roll, and pop back up without much trouble. Douglas made it back onto the porch, and I ran up to my warm bed as quickly as I could.
Oh, Douglas, it would be so nice if you could just wait until a normal hour of the morning to insist on going out.
However, the gate to the pen was open, and Douglas was down by the animals, incessantly barking at Olaf (the mini horse) and the rabbit. I ran to him, and called for him, but he shimmied under the chicken coop out of my reach. I didn’t have a flashlight so I couldn’t see much, and Douglas made no move to come out from under the coop.
Keep in mind how cold it was, and how I was not dressed for the frigid temps.
Finally, Douglas crawled out from under the chickens, and I was able to grab his collar. As soon as I got a hold of him he started to run to the house. Normally this would not have been a problem, but considering much of the yard is iced over, it was a bit of a precarious trek.
When the back porch was within sight I felt myself losing my balance on the ice, and I swear, it was a slow motion fall. I was slipping, and running, and right when I felt like I was gaining control...I went down. I surprisingly managed to keep a hold of Douglas, and was able to roll, and pop back up without much trouble. Douglas made it back onto the porch, and I ran up to my warm bed as quickly as I could.
Oh, Douglas, it would be so nice if you could just wait until a normal hour of the morning to insist on going out.
| Also this morning Jovie hopped the gate in the kitchen, made her way to our bedroom, and slept on Shannon's feet for a couple of hours this morning. Shannon dreamed that his feet were stuck in something, and he could not get them free. He said that he was finally able to pull one one foot loose, and he then realized that Jovie had camped out on his feet. That sweet girl just wants to be as close to us as possible. We have never had a Saint Bernard that likes to snuggle, but Jovie is definitely a snuggler. |  |