So what about those power locks? I don't think the person that came up with the idea of power locks thought of the fact that kids and animals somehow manage to find the button on the door, or if you have one of those FOBs for your car key the button on that, at the most inappropriate time. Now let me say that 1. normally I do not close up the van (but it was chilly) but if I do the windows are usually down partway; 2. normally the only loose dog in the van is Dirk and he doesn't play with buttons; and 3. I rarely take the key out of the ignition and place it somewhere where a dog would step on it. So it was a big surprise when I was sitting on Howard's tailgate and the van beeped, you know that beep... I looked at one of my training mates and we both said "what was that?". Then I stood up and looked at the van. Hmm, didn't see Dirk but this was the ONE time I didn't crate Dodge after working a sequence since I knew I would be getting him back out in less than 5 minutes. Nah, that van couldn't have just locked ITSELF. So I walked over and SHEBANG... doors were locked. Oh great! There stood Dodge, in between the front seats with Dirk soundly snoozing on the passenger seat (SOP for him) and yep the doors were locked. Wonderful. I looked inside and didn't see the keys, not in the ignition or on the seat or in between the seats. Ok I thought, maybe all of the doors weren't locked and why didn't I have the liftgate open? Oh yeah because it was chilly and my dogs are naked dogs (compared to the aussies and corgi that we train with). I uttered those words that we all laugh about every time we hear them. "This has never happened to me..." There is always a first time.
A quick (well 25 minute) run down the valley to the house (hey, I got to give my yummy beef stew a quick stir when I ran in to the house to pick up the spare key) and I was back at the farm with spare key to free my dogs from the evils of the locked van. And then the REAL fun began...
NOT the face of a guilty party
With the van now open I started fishing around to find my keys. If you've seen my keyring you know that it is almost impossible to miss. Two FOB type of keys, a mini dumbbell (hey, I'm an obedience buff), some key cards and a few miscellaneous keys, a couple of which I have no idea what they lock or unlock. Not in the ignition, not in the basket between my seats, not in the area behind the drivers seat, not on the floor under the steering wheel so where were they and how in the world did the van get locked? Shaking my head I grabbed my slip lead, popped Dodge back in his crate and decided that I had better put the spare key in my jacket before I lost it. As I walked towards Howard's van it hit me like a ton of bricks... WAIT, did I just think "in my jacket"? Say it isn't so. And then I started to chuckle and when I got to Howard's van I started to laugh. There, on the tailgate, the place where I had been sitting with one of my training mates, was my jacket. Did I mention that it was chilly that day? And that I took my jacket off to run a sequence? And where would be the most logical place to put your keys when they are not in the ignition? Yessiree, in my JACKET!
I'm not going to point fingers 'cause I can't say for sure but I was the first one to sit on the tailgate and the "beep beep" didn't happen until the other person sat down next to me. And in my defense, the coat was out of sight and therefore out of mind when my brain realized what it was that my ears heard. So the dogs didn't lock me out of the van (and themselves in it, thank goodness it was a chilly day) and should this ever happen again I will stop and think before I commandeer a driver to run me back to the house. Oh yeah, and regardless of the temp, a window will be left open just enough for me to reach down and unlock the van. This weekend is supposed to be lovely and the van will probably be wide open.
Pictures to follow if it turns out as nice as the weatherman is saying it will!
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