Puppy-Gate

There is now a baby/puppy gate closing off the breakfast room from the kitchen, in preparation for our Halloween party on Saturday night. Being that Savannah's safe place has always been the breakfast room, I thought it best to keep her contained in that room for the party. With thanks to our friends J&J up the road, we now have this very nice and wide white metal gate which will keep Savannah away from the food, our guests, and the party in general.

With the glass doors of the dining room, Savannah will be able to see into the dining room during the party, and she can look through the gate and into the kitchen to see what's going on in there without getting underfoot. Although, Savannah's usual method with company is not to get underfoot... she immediately goes into the breakfast room when anyone walks through the door.

I put the gate up a few days before the party so she can get used to it, and I could tell right away that Princess Puppy was not pleased. Even with the door to the gate wide open, she stares at that gate as if it's Mount Everest. There is a metal threshold along the bottom of the gate, which is exposed when the door to the gate is open, and when Savannah steps over that threshold you would think it was two feet high rather than barely two inches high. The first time she went through that little door, it looked as if her feet had to clear a hurdle in a high-jump. Such a drama queen at times, this puppy. I will leave the door of the gate wide open between now and party time, and then close it a few minutes before everyone is due to arrive on Saturday night.

While I was in town today, I bought two more soft toys at the thrift store for Savannah, being that the population of her stuffed animal zoo has dwindled down some. I found a black and white 'Sylvester The Cat' and a pink and purple monkey. I put both of the medium-sized plush toys into Savannah's toy basket, so she would know they were indeed hers...... she sniffed both of them and picked up the pink and purple monkey first. This puppy has a thing for monkeys... with of course the blue monkey still being her play-with-it-first favorite toy.

I was exhausted most of yesterday, after having not slept much the night before courtesy of one puppy who seemed to want company rather than seclusion the other night. After watching twelve innings of the first game of the World Series (and no one scored till the 14th, with Kansas City ultimately winning the first game), my husband and I went upstairs to bed last night thinking that Savannah could possibly sleep through the night being that I had taken her out to the grass later than usual because we were up later than we usually are.

Well, think again.  At two o'clock in the morning, Savannah barked to go out..... I came downstairs and brought her outside and she did her routine quickly....... back into the house we came and no sooner had I gotten back upstairs and she barked again. I came flying back down those stairs and put my face about one inch in front of Savannah's face and told her that if she didn't shut up and go to sleep I'd either send her back to Puppy #1 or I'd go there myself because I'd probably get more sleep in an outdoor kennel.

After that outburst of mine, Savannah put her head down on the floor and I didn't hear a peep out of her for the rest of the night. I woke up at 7:45 (which is late for me) and even when I came downstairs Savannah didn't raise her head or move from the spot where she was sleeping. (Puppy guilt at its finest.)

Today is a gorgeous day... sunny and clear and the kind of day when you'd like to just walk and walk and not stop for much of anything, except a bookstore. Savannah has been outside three times already, I've gone into town and back, and this afternoon is the weekly Wednesday tea here at our house. Savannah is quite used to the tea ladies... she watches everyone come in while she's in the 'safety' of the breakfast room, and then she will peek into the dining room from time to time to see what everyone is doing.

The tea ladies will see the puppy gate... and someone is bound to say "Oh you poor thing, Savannah!" and this puppy is going to put on her best sad-puppy face and take full advantage of the moment.