Houdini Breaks a Paw

We decided as a family, that this past weekend would be a "do nothing" weekend. The holidays are crazy when you have a baby, not to mention we do have a "blended" family, so between soccer season, school, and everything else, well, it's been crazy since October. :) I'm sure you can relate. So yesterday, my son and I were having fun setting up the XBox to play some Rock Band... suddenly, my fiancee opens the door, says, "The dogs are loose and going after the labs!" Mind you, my fur babies are wimpy goofballs- not vicious guard dogs. They were tearing after these two labs who walk past the house to go to the park everyday. Although they weren't going after the labs to bite or attack them, I'm sure it's intimidating to see 150 pounds of German Shepherd barreling down at you and your dogs. (Fortunately, we know the guy with the labs. He walks past the house everyday and sometimes we're out there.)

Anyway, earlier in the day, I washed both dogs and tied them out in the driveway to dry. Although I normally sit out in the driveway with them, when my son asked for some mom time, I decided it would be ok... after all, we would be in a room where we could see the dogs. We didn't even have the first song queued up before my fiancee stuck his head in with the announcement. By the time I ran out the door and down the driveway, my two furry nutcases managed to clothesline another neighbor's mailbox and toppled it... poor Roxy was crying and the guy with the labs was lifting a stack of bricks (which was holding up the mailbox) to free her paw. I felt so bad.

First of all, I should know better than to tie my dogs out. Dogs get injured while tied out all the time. Second, I know that despite my efforts to train them, they charge other dogs. I'm not worried that they'll maul other dogs, but they will run at other dogs, barking. Thank goodness it was the guy with the labs. It could've easily turned into a huge pack fight. Some of the other people on this street don't train their dogs at all, and we all have big dogs. (Sometimes I walk my dogs past their house and they will run up and bark too, but at least our dogs are more or less friendly dogs.)

Roxy is walking around on 3 paws today, whimpering whenever we make her go outside to potty. However, I haven't taken her to the vet yet because when she thinks we aren't looking, she will put that paw down. I'm sure it's hurt, don't get me wrong, but the dog loves attention. She just LOVES sitting in my lap when I apply ice packs to her foot. She is also using the paw when she sneaks up on the couch at night. (She actually lies in our bedroom until she thinks we're asleep, then moves to the couch.) So anyway, we're keeping an eye on her. There's some swelling in her "middle toes" but it's not too bad.

We ended up completely replacing the neighbor's mailbox. Fortunately, he was happy with that. The old one was there when they moved in, over 30 years ago. It really wasn't stable, either. The rebar was rusted through and there were shims which were obviously recently added below the stack of cement block. Quite frankly, it was a hazard. You'll see their front retaining wall is also collapsing. Everything around here is built on clay, and all the older retaining walls have that problem. I am sure the cement "footing" around the original base was added after the fact, after the ground shifted. So, I'm hoping the neighbor isn't too upset with the new mailbox. Maybe I'll make them some cookies or something. And some for the guy with the labs, too.