vito's great escape

now that vito is growing up, bfff and i decided we wanted to start leaving him out of his kennel while we aren't home. we wanted to give him some freedom to stretch his legs, but still keep him safe. so we borrowed a baby gate from our friends (who used it for their dogs too) and set it up on top of the first stair.

we thought it would be high enough that he couldn't jump over it (and puppy can jump crazy high) and bfff set it tight enough that he was certain vito wouldn't knock it over. our puppy had the run of the downstairs, his bed, water & favorite toy of the day. we came home after the first test and it went great! second test....still great! third test....ummmm....

it was on my birthday. i was going to run a couple of errands and be back in a couple of hours. i figured this was another opportunity for vito to test the waters and for me to get used to the idea that he can stay out on his own. i set the gate up, fill his water bowl, tell him to be good, and am on my way.

when i got home, i glanced up at the upstairs window and i see vito's floppy ears and his smiling face looking down at me. oh crap. as i walk inside, i see that the gate is still up and i'm amazed. i thought for sure he would have jumped it and knocked the darn thing over. vito comes barreling down the stairs to say hi to me and goes through the gate. yes, THROUGH. the puppy decided to pull out some of the wire mesh, just enough to create a space for him to fit through. bfff & i didn't even CONSIDER that option.

thankfully, he didn't get into anything upstairs, which i think was pure and total luck. or maybe he figured he should be on his best behavior. he's pretty darn smart.