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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

High Drama on Sunday Night


Our electric motor gate to which my children
all have their own remote control devices

My older son and d.i.l. are staying with me at the moment so my younger son Angus and his wife, Amanda (who live around the corner from me) pop in regularly to visit. On Sunday night, my older son invited Angus and Amanda for a cup of coffee and cheese puffs. Our children all have remote controls to operate our electric motor gate, so access and departure is pretty simple.

They had been visiting for an hour already when I came through to my office. As I sat at my desk, I heard my dogs and the neighbour’s dogs barking furiously. I popped my head out of the window and was horrified to hear a piercing howl. My neighbour was away for the weekend and my first thought was that her two large dogs were mauling her miniature Jack Russell.

The gap in which Megan's head was stuck
I sprinted up the driveway towards the gate when I realised the yelping was coming from poor Megan, my eleven-year-old Scottish Terrier x Maltese poodle. I couldn’t see too clearly but I saw that she had been caught in between the gate and the post. I ran back indoors, grabbed my remote control and dashed to the gate again. By now Eddy and Angie were very worried and were milling around Megan while her screams grew louder and louder.
Holding onto the poor dog with my left hand, I held my breath and pressed the button to open to the gate. I was nervous that her poor head would be crushed in the movement but praise God, the gate opened and suddenly Megan was free. She sped down the driveway to the house and by the time I came inside, I found her sitting under a chair in the entertainment area and panting frantically.

Megan often makes a dash for the last gap in the gate as it is closing. This time, however, her timing was out
After ascertaining that she wasn’t bleeding or injured, I warmed a bowl of milk and crushed half an analgesic into it. She drank that and when I checked on her again, she was sleeping on the armchair!
Megan enjoying her bone on Monday afternoon. None the worse for the wear after her harrowing Sunday night ordeal with the electric motor gate!

While this drama was playing out, all the family were looking up friends on Face Book. When I came in and told Angus that it was probably when he entered the yard that Megan had tried to get out into the street (she has this bad habit), they all traipsed out to check how old Meggie was.
Then Angus, ever the joker, said: "Mom, you should have taken a photo of her stuck in the gate and you could have blogged about it!”

At the time, I couldn’t think about anything but releasing Megan from that gate. Today I photographed the scene of the accident and yes, here is the post!
BTW, I don't think Megan will try to run out of the gate again.

4 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness Jo, my heart was in my throat as I read this post. All I can say is that thank goodness Megan is alright, & thank goodness you were at home at the time. (I doubt she'll try that 'trick' again in a hurry !)

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  2. Lynda, it took me a few minutes to get my heartbeat regular again. And yes, that was my thought exactly: imagine if we were away and Emily only arrives in the morning? Poor Pienkie my neighbour, would have come to investigate (we look out for each other) and been helpless. I'm thinking I should leave a spare remote with her - not that Megan will ever do that again. I have not seen her near the gate since then! Don't tell me old dogs aren't able to learn anything new - well it hurt, so she had to listen! Hugs Jo

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  3. I my, I am so glad things turned out all right!!! For the first months with Sheba, I couldn't leave her unsupervised in the garden until I knew she had tried and tested (and learned!) the things she really could not do (especially around the horses).

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  4. Thanks Esther, yes you cannot leave your pets for days on end without checking on them. Last night we had a storm and at least 4 of my 8 cats are afraid of storms. I spent ages looking for them; I didn't rest until I found them all! Megan is also afraid of storms but she comes inside when the first rumble is heard! Have a wonderful day. Hugs Jo

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