Operation Puppy Dog

Mission:  Get through the kitchen, into the puppies' room, shut the dogs in their crates, and return to the livingroom without being seen.

Timing:  Wait for Mama to be outside and Papa to be distracted enough to not latch the baby gate properly.

Casualties:  Not likely, but one may need to sacrifice for the greater good of the mission.

Final report (as seen through the eyes of the enemy - Papa):

The baby gate works great, but only when we shut it properly.  This past weekend I opened the gate and walked through to write something on our grocery list in the kitchen.  I was only going to be in the kitchen for a minute so I didn't latch the gate - I just let it be close to shut so I could easily walk back through. 

As I wrote the first item on the list, I heard: Squeal! Pitter-patter-pitter-patter-pitter-patter.

I turned around to find Hadley making a mad dash for the dogs, with Brynne right behind her.  Following tried and true divide-and-conquer military strategy, Brynne was veering off toward the dogs' food and water bowls. 

They had swung the gate open, but did not let it slam shut.  That would have alerted me of their invasion.  Basically, they teamed up to get further into the room, as a unit, than they ever had before. 

I imagine their entry went something like this:

Brynne quickly and stealthily breached the gate and held it open for Hadley.  The recon work she had been doing taught her to be careful not to open it too wide so as to avoid the squeak it makes when opened about 70% of the way.  She then gave Hadley the old "wiggle-two-fingers-in-front-of-her-eyes" military sign, and pointed toward the dogs. 

Hadley did a forward somersault, pulling into a crouched position to await her next move - getting dog hair all over her in the process to camouflage her movement through the kitchen.  She did this to get as far into the kitchen as she could without making any noise. 

Brynne, then slowly closed the gate behind herself - leaving it slightly ajar to aid in their escape.  Then, they both took off running at full speed, apparently thinking their bare feet would prevent me from hearing them. 

This was the only mistake they made, and it led to their ultimate downfall. 

They failed to realize that when they run, they sound like a herd of elephants.

When the alarms in my head went off, and I was finally alerted to their presence, they were already six and eight feet across the open terrain. 

My initial instinct was to capture the closest perpetrator, detain her, and go for the second.  As I surveyed the situation, I changed my plan mid-stride. 

Brynne was going for sustenance, while Hadley was going toward the ultimate objective.  Hadley had the most potential for danger, so I went for her.

Brynne saw what I was doing, and took evasive maneuvers. 

As I rounded the island and moved to intercept Hadley, Brynne stepped right in front of me.  She stood there with her arms outstretched at her sides, her head turned to the side, and her eyes closed.  She meant business. 

I could tell she fully intended to "take one for the team". 

I took one quick step around her, slammed into the wall, and barely avoided knocking her down.  When I regained my balance and reached Hadley, she had already shut one dog into her crate and was going for the other - giggling all the while.

I scooped her up and went back toward Brynne, who had resumed her mission of searching out rations for their return trip, but since the dogs had recently eaten there was nothing for her there. 

I scooped Brynne up in my other arm, and headed back to safety - putting them on the other side of the gate.

When they were safely returned to their designated section of the house, I went back to finish my list - which I had now forgotten.  I made sure to latch the gate this time. 

The giggles stopped suddenly. 

As I re-entered their territory I found them on the couch, looking over the top at the dogs and smiling mischievously. 

They might as well have been giving each other a high-five, or maybe even a fist bump. 

I know they are dreaming up their next big operation already!