Adventures in Dog Ownership

So, we have a very smart, very determined dog! How do I know this? Well, let me tell you the story of our dog Molly. It all started one Satuday afternoon when Andy left for work and placed Molly behind our retractable gate in the garage (see pic below). We newly installed a doggy door in our garage door and were hoping Molly would take the hint and use it to relieve herself outside instead of inside the house. Well, three hours later Andy comes home to find Molly running out of the garage. He quickly grabbed her and put her back behind the gate. He had another quick errand to run and put her behind the gate again. He was only gone ten minutes when once again he opened the garage door and once again Molly came running out to meet him. At this point Andy scratched his head and was wondering how a dog half the height of the gate could be getting out. So he placed her behind the gate and started calling her. She whimpered a little bit and pranced nervously about when all of a sudden she took a running leap from the laundry room and laucnhed herself not over the gate but to the gate and proceeded to climb up and over and out to the open garage! You should know that we have discovered Molly has some form of separation anxiety as she hates to be left alone! Well, we put a big board over the portion of the gate where she was able to climb out and left for church on Sunday morning with Molly behind the gate. Well, I came back from church to find both my parents and Andy at our house. I wondered what was going on. As it turned out, Molly decided she just had to get out and find us so she climbed over the gate in the 12 inch portion that wasn't covered by the board, was diappointed when no one opened the garage door, climbed back over, went out to our backyard and proceeded to open up a chink in the loose wood plank in our backyard fence and escaped! When Andy got home and he didn't find Molly he got worried and called my parents and they went out looking for Molly. Luckily she was found one court down. Three girls had found her and were about to make missing dog posters for Molly. Andy gave them 20 bucks for finding her! So we are glad to have Molly safe and sound, but this isn't the end of the tale. Upon returning to the garage there were bloody paw prints everywhere. Apparently Molly broke a claw in the process of her escape and covered our garage floor with her bleeding paw. Well, the following day Molly started limping and then refused to bear weight on her paw; so today I took her to the vet where she got injectable antibiotics and hew paw cleaned and wrapped. I'm so grateful to have Molly now taken care of and am driving home with Molly on my lap when she starts gagging in my lap. "No Molly! No Molly! Don't!" My futile attempts to prevent dog vomit getting all over me and the car were in vain. So I hurriedly put her over to the next seat while I try to drive home by lifting myself over the seat so as not to sit and drive in her vomit when again she starts gagging! I look over to the seat and see several library books, my purse and phone right in the line of fire! So I swipe those off the seat just in the nick of time as more dog vomit comes my car's way. So, $100 vet bill later and with dog vmoit in my car and on me Molly arrives safely home. But how can you be mad with a face like this!