Sunday, August 2, 2009

Comedy of errors.....

We don't like putting our animals in the kennel when we go on vacation, so we switch out babysitting duties with several of our neighbors.
I take care of 3 German Shepherds across the street, I watch someone else's cat....and a couple dogs next door (sometimes).... I also watch Gage.

This is Gage.



Gage doesn't look like the kind of dog you want to mess with, does he? And this guy is 13 YEARS OLD. Could you imagine him in his prime?



Gage looks tough.

Gage IS tough.

Gage also loves me. I think. I'm not 100% sure but I fake it so he doesn't know I'm NOT 100% sure. Anyway, it seems to work because he is always happy to see me and loves all over me.

So, here is what happened Friday night...this drama lasted 20 looooong minutes.

I go to check on Gage for the last time at 9:30ish. His owners put up some little curtains to cover the little sidelights on their door. But they drag on the floor. (They only put them up when they go out of town.)

I come walking in, one of the curtains gets caught under the door as I step over the threshold, catching my ankle.
I go down but not all the way, just close enough for Gage to think HOW WONDERFUL! SHE IS GOING TO KISS ME ON THE MOUTH!

So, between the curtain and the falling and Gage wanting to kiss me, I didn't make it to the alarm pad in time to turn off the system.
Almost...but as I reached out to 'touch' the key pad, there went the alarm!

So I go turn it off.
I hit the 'clear' key but it doesn't turn off because it was the wrong key.....which locked the system and wouldn't let me turn it off.
So each time I hit the clear key, the alarm would ratchet up the sound letting the ENTIRE world know that SOMEONE SET OFF THE ALARM!

About this time, Gage starts getting irritated and growls a bit and then starts barking.
He doesn't like the alarm SHRIEKING its bloody guts out anymore than I do.
Now I try putting the code back in and it wouldn't work EITHER! So like an idiot, I just stand there and keep entering the 'off' code over and over again....but gee whiz, it still won't turn it off....hmm.......I actually stood there and scratched my head like a monkey.

I start to get worried because Gage is REALLY getting agitated and I think he is getting a bit too tense for the situation because he starts sort of spinning around in front of me like he is chasing his tail....but doing it over and over and over again.
So I try to take him to the back door.
But he won't go. Instead he continues to bark and chase his tail. I stand there like an idiot looking at Gage doing his little thing and am thinking that surely the cops will come and drag me off because even the DOG is barking STRANGER DANGER....(even though, right now, the dog looks nuts.)

I try entering the code again and this time, the alarm starts a new higher pitched cycle of shrieking and whooping and I can't take it anymore so I go outside without Gage...but with him chasing me to the door and barking.
It didn't do any good going outside because you can hear the alarm from OUTSIDE TOO. So I go back in. Gage is still barking and now he jumping up and down in front of me.

About this time, I remember that I DON'T REMEMBER the 'secret' word. You know, THAT WORD you need to remember when you are babysitting someone's house so if the alarm goes OFF you can let the alarm people know that you are okay. An idiot, but okay...not a bad guy.
Gage is still barking..and now he is running in circles around me.

I decide to go BACK outside because I can't think straight and Gage has gone 'over the edge.'
This time, he goes with me but won't stop barking and now he is sort of jumping up and down in front of me combined with the running in circles.
I didn't think pits were that flexible.
He looks like a circus monkey.
If I hadn't been so stressed, I would have REALLY enjoyed the show he was putting on for me.

I call the owner a couple times from my cell but she doesn't answer (she IS on vacation after all!) so I call my husband (why?).
It has going on so long now that I am thinking, dang....noone has shown up to arrest me....maybe I'll just GO HOME. yeah....I actually thought about it! HA!

Instead, I decide to go back in and give it another go...first, I say a little prayer and enter the code AND........

it lets me turn it off this time.


Even better is that as soon as the alarm shut up, Gage did too!
Gage simply stops barking, wags his tail and starts eating his dinner....which is good because for a while there I thought was going to eat me.

Then I had an interesting thought.......
You know, one of those random thoughts that makes you realize the REASON you aren't a rocket scientist. Yeah, one of THOSE THOUGHTS. .......

I realized that while I was panicking, I was putting in the WRONG CODE THE ENTIRE TIME. In my panic, I kept putting in the 'on' code instead of the 'off' code.

I am such a moron.......


So after all this hysteria, the the owner calls me back and then the alarm company calls her so she hangs up.... and then she calls me back again.
Then she hangs up and calls the sheriffs office because they had already dispatched someone to come take me away to jail.

Then she calls me back again to follow up with me and I told her about Gage.

She burst out laughing and told me that he gets a 'little crazy' when the alarm goes off.

A little crazy? I would hate to see it when he goes A LOT crazy! yikes.....

11 comments:

mysteryhistorymom said...

VAl! Oh my goodness! Has your heart rate gotten back to normal yet?? You poor thing. Good thing gage likes you.:0 Lori

Betty aka Fudgie said...

Now...that's a reason for a large-O
margarita, in fact two or three!
Your pal!

Kathy - mom of many said...

What a great neighbor you are to put up with all that!

curegirl0421 said...

Your buddy Betty there said it best. That calls for tequila, seriously.

Michelle said...

bwahahaha that is freaking hysterical.

Ruhammie said...

WOW! What an experience! We just dog sat this past weekend, the dogs hair stood up on end when we got in to feed her. It took a good 5-10 minutes for her to realize it was okay for us to be in her home. It was a bit scary since I had my 2-yr-old with me. Hope you have a drink from that experience! :)

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness what a nite for and Gage!!! I know my small Pitty goes nuts when the alarm goes off to get up out of bed. I would hate to see what she would do if the house alarm went off!! It appears to me that Gage is one handsome boy... and its so awesome that he loves you so ;)
Hugs to you my friend.. Thank you for the wonderful fun story ;)
M

Suzi said...

He does look scary. Time to break out the fiesta goods you got and have a merry margarita.

Unknown said...

Oh sweetie, my side hurts from laughing! Our dog is half pit and they are very loving dogs...a bit intimidating but lovable.

Unknown said...

That has to be the funniest story ever! I have a friend that has a pit bull that does the same thing when he's agitated -- spins in a circle. I'm glad the police didn't cart you off to jail and that you finally remembered the correct code. Thanks for the laugh!!

manda said...

Oh My! What a fantastic story!! lol
You poor thing! You must have felt like a right idiot when you realized the alarm code problem...lol...don't worry, we all have those moments. like, hmmm...where did I put my keys, and you look everywhere and through every single bag in the house before remembering that they're in your pocket. Or searching for your glasses only to realize they're linked on your shirt front. but then again, those are moments my Mum has had and not me! lol

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