Evading the Engineer- Winchester, VA

““I do not insist,” answered Don Quixote, “that this is a full adventure, but it is the beginning of one, for this is the way adventures begin.””

— Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Nothing was known about Curtis Lowe after adoption except for the fact that he LOVED food.  Without knowing his home training, it was decided to crate him when left unsupervised.   Simple right? Try again.  

THE OPPONENTS:

• Opponent 1: Engineer with 40yrs real life experience and education from Georgia Tech
• Opponent 2: Curtis Lowe the coonhound

PLAY BY PLAY:

• Round 1: Engineer places Curtis Lowe in his crate in the morning prior to taking off for work.   Curtis Lowe takes his treat and seems content.  Engineer comes home from work and Curtis Lowe is waiting to greet him at the front door.
• Round 2: Engineer reviews the crate, finds the door bent and re-aligns the metal to it's original form.  Considers the escape a fluke and places Curtis Lowe back in the crate the next morning.  Again, Curtis Lowe takes his treat and pretends to settle down for a nap.  Engineer comes home from work and Curtis Lowe is waiting to greet him at the front door.
• Round 3: Engineer reviews the crate, re-aligns the metal to it's original form and now fortifies it with luggage ties and harnesses.  Considers the crate inescapable and places Curtis Lowe back in the crate the next morning.  Again, Curtis Lowe takes his treat and pretends to settle down for a nap.  Engineer comes home from work and Curtis Lowe is waiting to greet him at the front door.
• Round 4: Engineer reviews the crate, free-aligns the metal and fortifies with more straps and ties and braces.  Considers the crate inescapable  and places Curtis Lowe back in the crate the next morning.  Again, Curtis Lowe takes his treat and pretends to settle down for a nap.  Engineer comes home from work and Curtis Lowe is waiting to greet him at the front door.
• Round 5: No, there is no round 5. The engineer gives up.

Around this same time a neighbor boy was tasked with dog sitting Curtis Lowe for a weekend.  He soon realized that Curtis didn't have a problem escaping a 5 ft fence with a deadbolt lock... when yet another neighbor noticed Curtis Lowe out for an afternoon stroll by himself he managed to tie him up with a jet ski line while going inside to get his phone; by the time he got back Curtis Lowe was strolling the sidewalk.  

The start of the Unknown- Harrisonburg, VA

“Most of our assumptions have outlived their uselessness.”

— Marshall McLuhan

The Beginning

When adopting a dog from the pound, there are a few obvious things you need to have with you at pickup- a crate (for safe transportation) a leash and a collar (and perhaps some road trip treats).  Turns out- size is important- A crate that previously worked great for an australian shepard doesn't necessary work for a coonhound.  

Fail one for the new "roomie". 

Fail two? Assuming said five year old (ish?) coonhound would know how to jump.  This could also be the first (of many) situations where Curtis Lowe plays innocent and ignorant when in fact he is just playing the crowd and having others do all the work (in this case lifting him into a Jeep).

If you continue reading you'll soon realize, Curtis Lowe lives to contradict all assumptions ever made about him.