Needing a New Screen For Porch Because of Abby

The screen is at the left.

In a previous entry, I noted how we dealt with Abby sneaking out of the fence. When she was a puppy, she was still small enough to squeeze through the fence post and the house, and sometimes she would do just that: squeeze through. We easily fixed that problem by putting a cynder block in front of the gap. Besides, later on, Abby's growth obviated the need to block the gap. She would become too big to even put her Baby Girl head through the gap, let alone her whole body.

Unfortunately, we had to face another consequence of Abby's growth. She was a powerful, nitro-fueled Labrador puppy who we had a hard time controlling. She still had separation anxiety issues, which I have noted elsewhere. But even when she was outside, her separation anxiety still popped up now and then.

If someone she knew and liked was in the screen porch and Abby was in the back, Abby would grow extremely excited and could not contain herself. She would burst through the screen as if it were not there. After a few episodes of this, the screen porch was rendered useless. It wasn't meant to contain Labrador puppies, just bugs.

My mom hired a handyman to reinforce the screen with a high density plastic barrier able to withstand Abby's excitement. I know the description of the plastic barrier doesn't sound flattering, but the guy did a good job and it has stood strong for the last 15 years. It cost a few hundred dollars. Our Baby Girl's destruction cost us quite a bit when she was a puppy. She was wild as hell.

That part of Abby's growth, the rambunctionsness and spontaneity, irritated me at the time, but I miss it now. I was proud when she matured but her wild days did have some redeeming qualities. It made things fun, frustrating and unpredictable.