Watching Doggies on Spy Cams

When we first moved in, we installed security cameras – inside and out. Despite the fact that our neighborhood is very safe, and nobody locks their doors, we feel better knowing what’s happening, inside and out, especially when we’re not here. For example, right after we moved in, we caught what we’re pretty sure was the backside of a small bear exiting our front porch. Always good to know when you have a neighbor with big claws!

What we didn’t realize when we installed the cameras was how much fun we’d have watching our new doggies, Moon and Tank, when we’re gone. As I wrote last week, they were surrendered by their previous owner to the pound. Tank was adopted for one week by someone, but was returned because, we believe, he missed his sister too much. Needless to say, both dogs have separation anxiety issues. Moon suffers from it more than Tank.

So, last week, we left them alone for the first time to go to church. We were only going to be gone for two hours. We were even going to skip our weekly grocery store trip just in case they missed us too much.

Neither dog is allowed on the beds, nor on the furniture. To keep them comfy on the floor, we ordered a huge, very cushy rug for the living room. It’s so thick that it smushes between your toes when you walk on it. Heaven!

Moon, enjoying her new rug. You can still see the shaved belly from her spay surgery.

We also bought a HUGE dog bed for Tank, and a medium one for Moon. Those are in our bedroom. Tank has taken possession of the medium bed (his head hangs off) and Moon basks in the huge one like the diva she is.

So, we’re on our way to church and I’m driving. Brian pulls up the living room cam on his phone. Moon is pacing by the door, whining. I wanted to cry. 🙁

And, Tank is LYING ON THE SOFA!! Bad dog!! Our security cams have speakers that we can activate with our phones. Brian pushed the button, and sternly said, “Tank! Get Down!” Tank looked up for a second, turned his head to the left and right, and then laid back down, comfy as he could be!

We turned our phones off during Sunday School and church. After we got back in the Jeep, Brian checked again. Now, BOTH DOGS WERE ON THE SOFA!!!

When we got home, neither dog was on the sofa (they clearly heard the key turn in the lock!) and we found that Moon had left us a gift of a puddle by the front door.

Yesterday, I had a follow-up appointment at the podiatrist. On the way, Brian pulled up the living room cam. Moon was whining and pacing. 🙁 And, there was Tank – once again splayed out on the sofa like a drunken sailor.

When we left the doctor, we had two more errands to run. Brian pulled up the cam once again and both dogs had emptied the doggy toy basket. Toys were scattered all over the place! We couldn’t see Moon but we could hear a “squeak squeak squeak” so we knew she was gnawing on one of her toys in a corner somewhere. The GOOD news is that neither one of them was gnawing on the sofa! But, there was Tank, once again in his favorite sofa spot.

This morning, Brian was at the vet, dropping off stool samples (they’re still trying to find the cause of Moon’s diarrhea). I got out of the shower and, once I was dressed, I opened the door, and found Tank lying on his back on MY side of the bed, with his head on my pillow and his legs in the air, bent at the knees! The only thing missing was a pair of glasses on his snout and a novel in his paws. He turned his head sideways toward me and I could have SWORN he was smirking.

“Tank! Down!!”

The hilarious part of this is that they both KNOW that they aren’t supposed to be on the furniture. How do we know this?? Because they never try it when we are in the room! It’s only when we step out that they sneak onto the cushions or mattress.

We nave finally bitten the bullet. We bought some uncomfortable rubber spiky gizmos you can put on the sofa to train dogs to stay off. The furniture was quite an investment when we sold the boat and I don’t want to buy any more for the rest of my life. And, call me snotty but I really, REALLY hate sitting down on dog hair.

We have also installed an invisible fence around the perimeter and both Moon and Tank are adapting to that very well. All they need to hear is a “beep” on their collar when they get close and they avoid it.

Good dogs!!

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Angela Hoy lives on a mountain in North Georgia. She is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the President and CEO of BookLocker.com and AbuzzPress, and the author of 24 books.

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