This is Smitty. Smitty is a good dog. Smitty is on the right side of his fence.
This is Sidney. Sidney is a good dog too, but Sidney is on the wrong side of her fence. Sidney and Smitty should be on the same side of the fence.
Years ago, when I'd been regularly walking my dogs past this fence and on into the woods and orchards beyond, a new dog came to live in that house named Sidney. When Sidney was a youngun she could hop right over this fence, and she did. I would have to get the attention of her owner, who would then have to drive around the block and get her. Her owner, Bob, would not believe me when I told him she had hopped the fence. He insisted she had dug under the fence. No matter, I had seen her do it, and I knew. I stopped going into the orchards by that route for many years so as to avoid the situation.
A few weeks ago I started going that way again after, oh, eight or so years of going the long way around. I didn't see Sidney, but this new dog Smitty showed up at the fence by himself for a few days. He didn't even try to hop the fence, opting to try to chew his way through it instead, so I happily started going that way again.
Today while I had my back turned to the fence taking a photo of a boulder for #bouldersunday, I heard the fence rustling and thought Smitty was just shaking it again, but when I turned around, there was Sidney at my side.
That old broad can still jump a fence. Bob insisted she went under when he drove around to get her today.
Maybe I'll try to do a cartwheel today to see if I can still do that. I used to be pretty good at those.
