Rolling Dog Farm Blog

I was headed down the drive in the truck to go get a load of hay at 4 p.m. when I looked over at the front yard of Widget’s House and noticed Travis was missing.  Uh oh.  Today was bitterly cold and the dogs had been inside most of the day.  I had just let them back outside to run around for a bit while I went to our neighbor’s hay barn.  Alayne was in Missoula running errands and taking blind Joey to the groomers.  It was up to me to find the scamp.

I looked at the truck thermometer and it said it was already 4 degrees below zero.  Our low for tonight was forecast to be 28 degrees below zero.  Travis!!!  @#%!@%#!  For some reason Travis, who has a fused jaw, picks very, very cold days to pull this stunt, and usually late in the afternoon or early evening.  It happens once a winter when the snow gets deep enough that it begins pulling down the fence around the yard in some spots by about 4 inches.  Between the thawing and freezing cycles, plus new snow, the fence becomes locked in ice, and we can’t pull it back up in those spots.

We have four feet of sheep fencing (small squares), topped with two strands of smooth wire.  The gap that opens up when the fence starts sagging is between the sheep fencing and the smooth wire.  It’s still plenty high, and none of the other dogs even think about trying to get out.  But because Travis is a climber and percher, it’s a natural invitation for a boy with his gymnastic skills.  We’d been keeping an eye on the fence for the past week, having noticed a couple of spots where the ‘winter sag’ had begun.  Yet the gap was only a couple of inches at this stage, we’d never seen Travis checking it out, and he seemed content to stick with his buddies anyway. 

So much for that theory.

Because the snow is so deep and crusty with ice layers mixed in, I knew Travis was likely to stay on the plowed roads.  Our first concern is the highway, about 3 miles away, so I sped all the way out across the Flat towards Highway 200.  No Travis.  I turned the truck around and headed back.

I got to the stop sign about 1/4 mile from our gate, looked over, and there was Travis.  At first he didn’t recognize the truck so he took off running, but when I climbed out and called to him, he looped back and came straight for me.  I picked him up and put him in the cab, and then the two of us set out to go get that load of hay.  I took the photo after I got back to the house with the hay and the rat I mean the dog.

What happens now?  Well, when we’re not around to keep an eye on him he’ll be in a large 20′ x 10′ kennel during the day until the snow melts.  When we’re over at Widget’s House he’ll be able to run and romp as usual.  In law enforcement circles I think they call this "supervised release," don’t they?

(Click on photo for larger image.)