Moving Is Hard On Everyone

 ... particularly if you don't understand what is happening.

Over the last two days, in preparation for a remodel, we've moved from our normal house to our rental property, which is about eight miles away. The dogs like the new place, but the change has them worried. Being smaller dogs, a lot of things bother them that wouldn't bother a large dog. Add in a move and then periods where both mom and dad are gone and you've got a recipe for panic.

Two days ago, we left them at the new house, outside, for the first time. As I drove away, I could hear them barking in the back yard. Our athlete, Leah, found a way to escape by jumping on top of a brick barbecue and from there to the top of the fence and out into the wilds of suburban San Diego. As far as I can figure, she was looking for our old house.

She must have been loose in the neighborhood for almost two hours. She's frightened of other dogs and doesn't take to strangers without us around. The whole adventure must have been terrifying. Wife kitteh got home first and discovered Lily, the chubby one, crying in the back yard, all alone. I got the call and we proceeded to drive around the neighborhood looking for Leah.

I finally found her about ten blocks away, scared out of her mind.

Where were you? Lily and I thought we'd never see you again!

The moral of the story is that you need to be aware of the stress moving places on your animals.