What I learned yesterday

I learned a new rule yesterday: Do not lock Mommy out of the house.

Mommy learned a new rule, too: Keep her keys in her pocket or find a safe place (like Uncle Jed’s house) for a back-up key.

Our “Mommy’s home!” routine started out like usual. Mommy let me into the house, then (because I like to jump on her and she might fall down) she went back out to the garage without me to lock my puppy door and fetch my water bowl. I followed my routine, too. I said, “Hey! I’m in here! I want to be out there!” Then I jumped up – and I flipped that little twisty thing on the door. That last part is not part of my routine. I found out why.

Mommy got a little mad. Then she got scared. I was alone in my house. She was alone outside of my house. Mommy ran to the business next door, where the nice people tried to help. One mister – the man with the puppies who bark at me – helped Mommy get into her car so that she could click the magic button to get back into the garage. Another nice man called a mister who knows how to open locked doors. We waited.

I could hear Mommy knocking at the door, calling my name and saying pretty words to keep me calm. It helped to hear her voice, but I wanted her voice inside. I was scared. I was hungry, too. I was tempted to get into stuff. I had the house all to myself. I could get into anything. But I was too scared to think about being naughty.

After lots of minutes, the lock man came and let Mommy into the house. I do not know how much money $45 is, but Mommy says she took it out of my treat allowance to pay the nice man. She will use more of my treat money to buy thank you snacks for the nice neighbors this morning.

I hope I remember this new rule. Mommy hopes she will remember to keep her keys in her pocket until we are both safely in the house. Oh, and she will call Uncle Jed’s mom to see about that key…