The dogs' playpen

Our lifestyle has become considerably more expensive since we brought Scout home in July last year.  I'm sure people think this way about having children moreso than having dogs, but one of the reasons we put off getting a dog was because dogs are expensive and we didn't have a whole lot of money to spare that first year or so of marriage.  We didn't want to have to budget in food, treats, vet bills and have that be the make it or break it point each month.  Scout was an investment in growing our family and I won't lie:  it was kind of painful handing over ….several… $100 bills when we got him.  As someone who has never spent a cent on an animal before, it was a weird feeling.  Because then it was like three more $100 bills to buy his: microchip, AKC registration, Heartgard, Frontline, and food.  I remember we didn't have enough cash with us because we didn't expect it to be that much!  They tell you a dog will cost xyz, but they don't tell you that you have to add tuv and w on top of that right off the bat.  Not to mention the carrier, toys, leashes, etc.  I used to keep track of how much I spent at the vet with him and now it's just something I have to forget about as a necessary expense.  Like putting gas in the car.  You can't not do it.

Scout wasn't cheap, and now I see why my parents never bought me a dog.

And now we have Jett.

I've written whole monologues about Jett.  He cost more than Scout and I try not to think about that because I spend twice as much time cleaning up after him.  It doesn't make sense.
 Essentially, we loved Scout so much that we bought him a friend.  It was all we could do for him because quitting our jobs to be here with him all day wasn't an option (I'm only kind of kidding here…when you look at his sad face when you're leaving for work, you're ready to quit your job).

Dusty floor and a blurry action shot.

So we needed a place holder and that place holder came in the form of a French Brittany from Minnesota.

I'm also pretty sure that we bought 35 acres because of Scout.  Don't get me wrong:  Scott has been talking about "land" for years and I'm lucky I talked him out of that land in Alaska a few years ago.  This wasn't anything new when he came home one day last winter and was all, "LAND! In COLORADO!".  However, Scout was the clincher because then it was, "If we're going to have a hunting dog, he needs a place to train and hunt…"  and then we got Jett and Scott ended up with his land and I'll get my quartz countertops.  It all evens out, I suppose.

So one of the stipulations was that this place had to have a fence.  There was a half-finished fence here. For some reason, it wasn't completed and just kind of ended.  We may have 35 acres, but that doesn't mean that Scout won't take off as soon as he gets the chance.  Plus we have neighbors with horses and dogs and whatnot.  I was sick of having to walk the dogs outside and tie them up and Scott, who refused to tie them up, was kind of over having to chase and yell.  I refuse to yell unless its really warranted (at school too…what an unnecessary expense of energy).  I mean, it's not like the dogs are entirely undisciplined.  But if you had the chance to run unencumbered through fields with your ears flapping in the wind, you'd probably take it too.

We tried to plant a flowerbed of mums but the dogs quickly destroyed that. 

I will say that I did not contribute a lick of effort toward this fence.  Scott did most of the work while I was sick two weekends in a row.  We still haven't cleaned up the tools and whatnot and this area, where you see the scattered bricks, will eventually house a brick oven for all the pizza we make.

Anyway, I was impressed that Scott finished the fence as quickly as he did.  We still need to add logs, rocks, and landscaping to the bottom.  But it's serving its purpose.  Opening the door and letting them go at 4am instead of putting shoes on and tying them out:  priceless.