I want to introduce my dog Sidney. He came to our Oregon home from Nevada about five years ago and I guess he is about 10 years old. In his younger days we called him Sidney the Jumping Dog because he could jump over anything. It took quite a bit of effort, but we built a six foot fence around the yard and added an electric fence wire on top.
That slowed him down, but did not defeat him. From time to time a tree falls on the fence and Sidney is quick to leave for his run about. He loves to follow little critters. Anyway, I though that he was getting older so he was slowing down. No such luck.
A few days back, I left the door open and he escaped to the front which is not fenced. I soon noticed my error, so I was able to get him back in again. There was no damage and no concern, just watch him closely. Over the last few days he appears to be able to get out at will.
I walk the fence and checked the voltage on the electric wire. Some new insulators were installed and some fencing was re-established, but this morning we let him out and he was through the fence – as quick as a cheetah on the open plain.
So I walked the fence again and could not find a break. I waited at the bottom of the hill on stake-out with binoculars but could not find where he was getting through the fence. He was wary when he felt someone was watching. Finally, the only option was to climb the roof and walk on the slippery roof-snow to watch where he breaks through/under/over the fence. I climbed up on the roof, Theresa let Sidney out. He meandered around a bit and then went to the corner of the yard. He climbed under one fence and then jumped over another.
I have made every effort to fix the fence in this area. Soon we will do another test and see if he can defeat our best efforts. I am hopeful we will prevail but as Theresa says, he has us fully committed to his game.
One thing I am sure about – Sidney is a resilient dog and that is the truth.
