Invisible Fence

It is invisible fence time for our family. The days have long gone where Dakota will stay in the yard 100% of the time. She is usually very good but once in a while, she will trot down the driveway to greet a passerby with some loud, but friendly, barking. It isn't really that we are so much worried about her as we are Cheyenne. You see, wherever Dakota goes, Cheyenne wants to go. So, as Dakota trots down the driveway, Cheyenne is right behind her and even runs past her. The excitement she has for new people and the fact that she is only 5 months old, leads her very close to the street at times.

I won't let it happen again. I was young when I watched in horror as my 9-month old puppy at the time ran across the street to see some kids. My dad hollered at me to call her back to the house and I was only able to get half of her name out, "Princ---" before something caught the corner of my eye - it was a car coming up the hill. It was too late, she heard the beginning of her name, saw me, and ran right back across the street. I tried to close my eyes so that I wouldn't see the inevitable but they just wouldn't close fast enough. There was a loud yelp, tires screeching, and my puppy trying to run away from the pain and fear she was feeling. My father dashed out of the house, wrapped her up in a blanket and off to the vet hospital they sped. An hour later, he came home without her and my heart broke. One of her legs would have had to be amputated and they didn't think she would live through the surgery. It was going to cost my family $3,000 and there was a good chance she would die. My family couldn't afford the money for something that most likely wouldn't save her and my dad told me, upon his return, that he just couldn't put her through all that with such slim chances. They put her to sleep and I never got a chance to say goodbye.

That memory is as fresh today as it was some 20 years ago, when I was only in 6th grade. It is still so painful to think about that I had to stop writing this blog entry a few times to wipe my tears so I could see the screen. She was just a puppy - a miniature Doberman/Shepard mix and she was my Princess.

Now I have two more fur babies that rely on me to take care of them and make sure that the memory of my past doesn't repeat itself. I wont let what happened to Princess, happen to either Cheyenne or Dakota. That is why we are installing the invisible fence - to save their lives. Sure, they get a small jolt if they get near the line but they are both very smart and it will only take one time for them to learn. Anyway, a small zap from an invisible fence is nothing compared to what could happen if they continue going to the street... It is well worth the money and training to ensure that they do not share the same fate as my beloved Princess did.