We closed in all but a small part of our garage years ago so
instead of having a garage door we have a regular door.
A metal door that started to rust at the bottom.
One afternoon, Buddy the Beagle was home alone and decided he
wanted to go out front (he has access to the backyard but that's not
where he wanted to go) so he started clawing, pulling and chewing on
the door until he was able to pull the metal away from the threshold
and slide out under it.
All without cutting himself on the jagged edges.
The Island King banged the metal back down and Buddy never tried
to get out that way again – but – the cats like to sit in the
front yard and every once in a while a stray dog will scare them and
they run under a corner of the metal door and into the garage.
They started using the corner of the door as a pet door so we left
it. It looked terrible but Buddy couldn't get out and and the cats
could come and go which worked for me.
One afternoon the metal got pulled up again and we realized that
it had now become a safety hazard and had to be replaced.
Off he went to buy a new door and when he got home he was so proud
of himself for the bargain he'd gotten.
“I only paid $29 for it – and it's plastic!”
What? Doors are expensive and why on earth would you buy a plastic
door – especially since it's an exterior door?
He tells me that since our metal door rusted and
that solid wood doors were too expensive he decided to go with the
plastic one.
“Because it's plastic it will last forever!”
Bless his heart.
He installed the door and then installed the smallest pet door
they make for the cats. No way could Buddy the Beagle fit through
that size hole.
Later that night I was sitting at my desk when I heard a gnawing,
chewing sound and when I went to investigate I found Buddy ripping
off the sides of the pet door.
I made him stop but a little while later I heard a noise and saw
the backside of Buddy wiggle through the pet door. I have no idea how
a dog his size managed to get through that small hole but him being a
Beagle has a lot to do with it.
The next day, it rained. And rained. And rained.
I walked past the door at one point and noticed this.
Hmm.
The Island King looks at it and says “Well I'll be damned, it's
hollow and that's not real plastic – just a coating.”
I'm not sure what he expected but it looks like his $29 door is
only going to last a few days.
The rain continued and then I noticed this.
The door is no longer a rectangle and the frame that came with it
has buckled.
More rain and I see this.
The door is actually coming apart.
He screwed the door back together but the rain damage has moved up
even farther.
It was about that time that he told me this is an interior door.
An interior door? You bought a fake plastic, hollow door to use as
an exterior door?
I would say Bless His Heart again we are way past that.
And meanwhile the dog has figured out how to get out of the door
in under two seconds flat.
So we have to block the door to keep the dog in but then the cats
can't come and go. If we unblock it so the cats have an entrance the
dog runs out.
I need to train the cats to hang out in the back yard but training
a herd of cats is not an easy thing – but then neither is training
Buddy the Beagle not to run out the cat door so I don't have a
solution yet but I do know it will involve a REAL EXTERIOR door.
The Island King's latest suggestion is to buy a wood door and cut
a mouse hole for the cats to squeeze through.
I really think he and I need to talk about this before we replace
the door because I don't think he understands the whole 'exterior
door' concept.Labels: Done
