i guess dogs have senior moments too … i’m just trying to figure out precisely when it was that my old girl matea figured that we removed the screen door which has pretty much been a permanent fixture in her life no matter which house we’ve lived in. because this afternoon, with no bird or squirrel or bunny in sight to possibly invigorate any generally-dormant stupid genes, with no one anywhere near the back door to potentially confuse her as to whether or not the screen door may have been slid open, and without merrick outside to trick her into believing that the screen had been foolishly left ajar to let the goober out, matea simply, surely and quite deliberately went sailing through our so-called “dog proof” screen door.
don’t get me wrong … it’s not the first time for this old girl. but at nine years of age, she’s wise beyond her years. she knows better, and as mentioned above, there was nothing to compel her. if i hadn’t been in the same utter disbelief as matea, or worried that the cat could escape through the three-foot gaping hole, i might have gone down to the studio to grab one of the cameras to capture matea’s shock and complete embarrassment. she stood, unmoving, stopped in her tracks, midway across the deck, her back to the shredded screen, head turned back toward the destruction, hung with what could only be abject apology … although, i’m certain, for a few long moments, she was calculating if it was at all possible to blame it on merrick this time.
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after merrick went through the former screen twice last summer — having never lived in a house before and never experiencing a screen door — i’m tired of dismantling the thing and running it off to Home Hardware. some 20lb fishing line will do the trick for now … besides, matea’s not getting any younger. i suppose i should expect more of these senior moments? or maybe after watching me spend almost an hour fixing this, she’s figured it out?
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merrick, on the other hand, i’m sure, will have a few more Superman moments when his excitement propels him through the screen … so this home-repair will do for now. fingers crossed the mosquitoes don’t discover the rift!
happy weekend, everyone. may it be senior-moment free!
bublynskiDon’t feel bad, Matea – I’ve walked through (and into) things plenty of times. We may be older and wiser, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still embarrass ourselves. 😉
kelli (alice's mama)tell matea not to worry, i’ve done the same thing before myself!! good quick thinking on the repair job.
KarenWe solved the issue of the screen door and our dogs by getting a stainless steel mesh screen. Our wire shredding girl can now ‘rip at it’ to her hearts content (not so good on the ears but the screen is still perfect). The only problem so far was the first night. When it got dark out and we put the lights on inside, the mesh became pretty much invisible. Out of the dark, we heard this huge bam! against the door. There were two very shaken and bewildered dogs on the other side who were used to seeing when the door was closed. They thought they could just come sprinting inside but slammed right into the door instead. It could have been very nasty but fortunately all was well.
Holly Garner-JacksonOMD! So this is the first of “52 weeks” that she’s done this ? This is pretty funny! Good patch job but I’m glad you aren’t a surgeon!
I wonder what she was thinking!!
Jenniferoh poor matea! what a crack up. she looks so sad and sorry for herself.
illonadonna, if she had opposable thumbs she’d be fixing it herself!
lisa, seriously, it’s not a matter of seeing or not seeing the screen for her … in this case, i think she simply wasn’t thinking. i could put big huge X’s of masking tape across it, and she probably still would have trotted right through it. it truly was a senior moment.
meghan, you should have seen her BEFORE i fixed the screen. you’d think she was ready for a beating!
AMEN, roger!!!
RogerAt least it wasn’t a glass window.
Meghan GraceThat second picture is soooo funny! Love this post!
Donna LukerOh, the poor girl looks absolutely mortified! I’m sure she’d help mend the screen if she only had thumbs 🙂
Lisa BrencisOMG! LOL! I find myself smiling but it’s not really funny. The fishing line is a fabulous temporary idea, though! Maybe if you put those things on the screen so that she can always tell that there is a screen there? I have 5 beautiful metal ones on mine. There are two pieces to each one and they stay in place with magnets. I have 3 butterflies, a hummingbird and a dragonfly. All in filigree metal.