[docmartin]

Background;
Girl 'Crystal' born 1/11/13, we re-homed her June 18th this year, to a quiet retired couple home, with no other pets. Good natured little soul, who desperately wants to please.

Today I had to attend a political meeting about 20 miles from home and this was the first time our little girl had ever been left alone. We have a 'Baby Dan' kiddies pen. Its octagonal, the sides are 30" high and at its maximum its 40" accross. The bars are 3" apart and made of metal. When I put her inside this morning in the kitchen, she cried. I felt a real heel submitting her to the confines of imprisonment, albeit with all her little creature comforts in attendance. However damage limitation was the first consideration, as those little gnashers are really sharp and there's a lot of em!

I arrived home 4 hours later, having worried all the time I was away at this poor little soul, locked away on her own, would she start yelping or crying etc etc.

You know what I'm going to say? I unlocked the door and there was this little soul, ears flushed flat, whole back end wagging and incredibly excited to see me, in the Hallway! Just how she got out of this pen still amazes me. She's about 6 and a half inches at the shoulder and weighs just over 6 pounds. To have jumped out with a very limited run up seems amazing. The equivalent of a 5' 7" woman clearing 28ft at a high jump event. Could she have 'squeezed' through the bars, or is she the reincarnation of a shaolin priest a' la David Carradine in 'Kung Fu', (no prison walls can hold him). It's so amusing and I felt really proud of her. Fortunately she doesn't seem to hold any grudges against me and I've of course given her lots of treats and fuss ever since!

Oh and no chewing toileting or other miscreant acts had been undertaken - a sort of 'is that the best you've got' result for her really!

Amazing little creature...