Well, I hadn’t planned on Fencing Phase 2 happening for several months… but…

Hubby’s foster dog (I’m pretty sure he will be ours…) escaped last week and he was gone for 6 days.  Luckily Niles was microchipped and wearing a tag with our phone number.  Ranchers several canyons over called Hubby last night and said that they had “your dog… he was chasing the cattle.”  Not a great way to join the neighborhood…

Of course, Hubby was elated to hear that Niles was still alive and drove over like Mario Andretti to collect his frightened, skinny, scabby and emotionally damaged McNab (a type of Border collie).

NILES.

Hubby wanted a Blue Heeler so he contacted a Cattle Dog Rescue in the area.  After perusing their FB page, he decided on a dog – who was already adopted.  Hmmmm.  The kind lady suggested a McNab named, Rowan, because we had (I had) a McNab previously in Dexter.

(Some of you may remember Dex.  He was an adorable, brilliant escape artist that I had for 13.5 years.  He passed just after we got Scouty.  Dex was amazing and smarter than me, most of the time…

Anyway, the lady recommended Rowan so Hubby went to see him at her residence where she was fostering him.

I could tell by the way Hubby phoned me to tell me that he had agreed to ‘foster’ Rowan that there was something wrong about him.

“He needs a person.  He needs someone to help him work through his trauma.”

Hubby is a fine man.  Hubby also has PTSD so he is very sensitive to those in emotional need due to trauma.

So, Rowan (now Niles Jim McNab) came home to the new house.

The name, Niles, fits him.  He was found as a stray, is very quiet, very skittish, very shy and doesn’t like people much.  In the 3 weeks that we’ve known him, he has never wagged his tail.  Usually, it is tightly curled all the way up and under his belly.  He doesn’t smile or wiggle or dance.

Niles is an emotional wreck.

And last week, he ran away.

Hubby was crushed.

But, now he’s back.

So….

PHASE 2 OF THE FENCING GOING IN EARLIER THAN EXPECTED.

This is very good news for the horses and me.  Now I can breath a little deeper knowing the horses will have another 5 acres to roam – and not be crowded into the 2 acres I was able to fence last week.

Now, we are putting 5′ non-climb on the back acreage to make it NilesProof.

Hopefully, it will keep him IN.

NOT ALL WIRE IS BUILT THE SAME…

The previous owner had little, tiny dogs and no other animals.   So, the fence he erected served its purpose, but not ours.  It is too short, too unstable, not deeply seated in the dirt and not non-climb.

Any of our industrious dogs could go over, under or through.

So, I guess losing Niles has quite a silver lining for me… more fencing faster!

We start today!