The Escape Artist

Meet Gus. Joey likes to refer to him as a "mixed breed", but the rest of us might call him a mutt. For the past two years Gus has been a resident of Ruston, LA. He has only recently become a Houstonian and a permanent member of our soon-to-be family. It seems that Gus is still getting used to the city life. He sees the backyard as his personal Alcatraz and he's determined to crack the system. In fact, he has made The Great Escape four times now. He has dug holes under the fence, pried boards off of the fence, moved cement blocks from the hole he dug under the fence, and most impressive of all, has managed to ram the gate enough to jimmy the latch and open the gate to freedom. And all without the use of opposable thumbs. Houdini would be taking notes. I imagine him in Shawshank Redemption fashion, tediously working away at his holes and cement blocks right under our noses. His first attempt had me in my work suit and heels, in the rain, looking for him around the reservoir. His behavior has led Joey to Plan B and to do what he thought he could never do to another male: get him fixed. It's for his own good. Last weekend he had The Surgery. He is much calmer and it seems that he has no clue that anything is missing. So we are now crossing our fingers that this will do the trick. We have been watching for suspicious behavior, such as fence boards that look a little amiss, small pick axes hidden under his dog bowl and toys, the relocation of shrubs, forming alliances with other freedom-seeking neighborhood dogs, etc. Since he has gone under, around, and through the fence, I'm waiting for the up and over attempt. If he successfully attempts this one, I think we'll just have to applaud. You can't blame him for his creativity. This has without a doubt been the most traumatic summer of his young dog life. I will keep you posted on any further developments of Operation Retain Gus...