The Dog in the Kennel: Latte’s New Blankie

I’ve worked at boarding kennels before. Some people worry that their dog will be in a “cage” the whole time.

Really, people? Use some common sense. If that’s what were really happening, it would be all over the internet.

True, dogs need their own space. There are enclosures that can be referred to as kennels or runs, but please let us NOT use the word cage. Cage brings visions of cramped, cruel confinement. And if your boarding kennel is warehousing animals, please find another kennel.

These dogs are fed twice a day and exercised four times a day. The sides and back are solid, because some dogs have resource guarding issues if other dogs can see their food bowl, or water bowl, or bed, or some resource like that. Yes, the front is chain-link for air-flow and a sense of being able to see out.

*****

Latte is a young pit mix that is living in a boarding kennel. She’s been there for about 10 months. Her owners boarded her in preparation for some personal medication procedures. They never came back. They’re not dead; they simply didn’t return. They had some cooked-up stories about death, dying, cancer, but in truth, they are at home, without Latte.

I won’t go into what I really think is going on here. For whatever desperate reason, this is what they decided to do. Desperate people do desperate things. I’m not going to talk about them any more. I’m going to talk about Latte.

I decided that Latte needed at least one thing of her own.

I decided that I had some acrylic yarn that needed to go out the door, which is a stealth move so that more yarn can come in the door. Plus I’ve had this acrylic yarn for years, and it was going to take a big project to make inroads on the stash.

I haven’t crocheted in years, but I have my mother’s crochet hooks. One appears to have gotten plenty of use, a size K or a 10 1/2. Mom went through a crocheted afghan phase many years ago, and had stacks of them. She dutifully handed them out to the children and grandchildren. There was a red, white, and blue one that she sent to Barbara Bush. (Don’t judge.)

I decided to use that size K and two strands of acrylic, and to see what happened. It’s simple single crochet, worked over and over again until I ran out of cream yarn. I made the border in the red, and when I was tired of crocheting the border, I knew I was done. That’s how it is sometimes when you are working on a project. When you are done, you are done.

I was horrified to see a mistake in this photo. No, I don’t think it adds to the character of the piece, but I think the dog will not mind.

 

Sleep tight, Latte.

I have more yarn. A blankie for Mr. Packett, perhaps?

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Tags: Crochet, Latte the dog, Living in a kennel, Not Knitting