We've ruined another dog

I don't know why people keep leaving their dogs with us. We keep ruining them.

This time the ruined dog is the one-time Cady the Terrible. Now she's more like Cady the Afraid-of-the-Outdoors, or perhaps Fraidy the Terrible. Her case of acute canine agoraphobia began during an evening walk on New Year's Eve when somebody launched a wee firework about a mile away:

BANG!

Well, it was a mile or so away, so it was more like:

BANG!

Be that as it may, Cady has apparently never been the bravest about loud noises, and so she turned tail mid-walk and demanded to go home. Fair enough. That probably would have been a limited-time issue if it hadn't been for the fact that the next day during a walk somebody once again lit off a firework on the far side of the lake:

BANG!

That was pretty much the end of all interest in going outdoors for the rest of her stay in Michigan. If you put her on the leash and drag her along far enough, she'll eventually do her business. I suppose the below-freezing temperatures haven't helped, but as far as Cady the Canine Agoraphobe is concerned, she'll be spending the rest of her time with us indoors, thank you, and away from the terrifying, terrifying outdoors.

Um, sorry Mom. We didn't mean to wreck your dog.