Houdini: The Gate Was Closed

The customer note said: gate is always locked, dog stays in back, she is friendly.

I pulled up and the dog was in the front yard.

She was sitting next to the mailbox, calmly disassembling a plastic sprinkler head like it was a puzzle she had been working on all morning. She looked up when I parked, wagged once, and went back to work on the sprinkler.

I checked the gate. Closed. Latched. Not just latched, but the kind of double-latch setup with a carabiner clip that says this homeowner has been through some things.

I walked the perimeter. No holes under the fence. No gaps in the block wall. No bent sections, no broken slats, nothing.

The call

I texted the homeowner a photo. Your dog is in the front yard. The gate is still locked.

Three dots. Long pause.

Then: yeah, she does that.

No further explanation. Just confirmation that this is a known situation with no known cause.

The cleanup

I put her back in the yard. She walked through the gate like she was doing me a favor. I latched it, clipped the carabiner, and started the sweep.

She watched from the patio for about ten minutes. Then I heard the clink of the carabiner hitting the wall, and by the time I turned around, she was walking along the side of the house toward the front yard.

I did not see how she did it.

I still do not know.

The name

The homeowner's family calls her Bella. We started calling her Houdini on the drive to the next stop. The name stuck. It is in the route file now, right next to the gate notes, which simply say: check front yard on arrival.

We will figure out how she does it. Eventually.