Who let the dogs in?

In case you don't know: Billy and I live next to my mom, (and brother, who lives next to my other brother and his wife and their 4 kids, who live next to my sister and her son).

There are many benefits of living so close to my family. There are also some drawbacks, however, the good definitely outweigh the bad.

One certain benefit is having constant companions for Halia. In the Spring, my mom had a fenced installed between the two barns, which gives the 3 dogs an open area of about 60 feet by 120 feet to play in. With the recent hot weather, we've chosen not to leave the dogs out. (Halia does not have enough sense to come in out of the sun.) So now, just about everyday, I try to take Halia to see my mom's dogs and they play 'fetch', or 'chase'. It's great exercise for all the dogs, and gets Halia so exhausted that I can get things done around the house without her sad puppy eyes following me everywhere.

The best thing I do (ie: how I benefit the most) is to sit in the shade with 2 or 3 balls, and toss them for the dogs. Halia and Lily always end up rolling on the ground playfighting, and Mike indulges in his obsessive - compulsive disorder. Occasionally I'll walk over to our garden and pull some weeds, while keeping an eye on the dogs.

Today, within 30 seconds Mike and Lily were gone. Nowhere to be found. This is not the first time they've disappeared so I knew exactly where to look. As I peered thru my mom's fence, I saw the two dogs swimming in her pool.

Dogs in the pool is not necessarily a bad thing. I do take the dogs swimming a couple of times a week, but today, I was just about to put the dogs in the house, and get started on my day. So I had to let the dogs run around a bit so they could dry off, dry their ears with a towel, then squirt 'dog ear cleaning solution' in their ears and rub them some more.

How did they get into the fully fenced in pool area you may ask? Well the side door does not close very well, and Mike knows this. (he doesn't know much else...) He waited until I was looking away then snuck right in with sweet innocent Lily in tow.

All in all, I was over there an extra 20 minutes. I know Mike is now laying on the couch with a triumphant, satisfied grin on his face, and Halia is pooped out on our bed, but you better believe that I'll be checking the side door tomorrow!