For years now, I’ve had a procedure that I go through just before going to bed, in which I check that both the front door and the sliding glass door are locked, that the toaster oven is unplugged (we had a near-catastrophe some years ago when the controls in the toaster oven got caught in a string bag that had been put on the counter), that the stove and oven are off, that the downstairs windows are closed and latched, and that the thermostat is adjusted to the proper nighttime temperature. I call it “Checking all the things.”
Last night, as I was getting ready to go to bed, Ashley (our new li’l pupper) wanted to go into the patio, so I opened the sliding glass door. She ran out, and then ran once around the perimeter fence, and then came right back in again. It didn’t take much more than 15 seconds.
My insight into dog brains is limited, but it sure looked to me like she was “checking all the things” out on the patio.
A very appropriate activity for a dog.
