3:20 a.m. Caitlin Is Barking

3:20 a.m.: The springs shudder as Caitlin catapults off the bed, bursts out the dog door, and races to the top of the bank barking her head off.

3:21 a.m. Continued barking.. I get out of bed, pull on a robe, and turn on the light in the bathroom to look for my slippers. Rob wakes up. Wants to know why the light is on.

3:22 a.m. I stumble through the junk on the patio in the dark. More frenzied barking.

3:23 a.m. Our next door neighbor comes out and yells, "Caitlin, shut up!" Three chihuahuas who live 2 doors down begin barking.

3:24 a.m. I try to hike up the bank, but keep sliding backwards out of my slippers and finally give up. More yelling and barking from all over the neighborhood.

3:25 a.m. I begin throwing rocks at Caitlin. She comes part way down the bank to see what's going on, decides it's of no interest and goes back to barking at whatever's on the other side of the fence. I throw a few more rocks, can't even get them within 3 feet of her, and give up. Everyone is still barking and yelling.

3:26 a.m. I return to the patio and turn the hose on, hoping to drive Caitlin off the bank by spraying her. When I get back to the garden, Caitlin has come down from the bank and is trying to get her head into the stream of water. We play tag with the water for about 30 seconds until I get close enough to grab her. The chihuahuas are still barking.

3:28 a.m.I drag Caitlin to the patio door and ask Rob to hold her. He is asleep and doesn't hear me. I shout at him until he wakes up. I push her through the door and he takes hold of her collar.

3:29 a.m. As I turn the hose off, Caitlin is already back at the top of the bank, barking her head off. I go back to the bedroom door to ask Rob why he let her go. He is asleep and doesn't hear me. I shout at him until he wakes up. He says he assumed I had gone through the other (locked) door and shut the dog flap. Caitlin and the chihuahuas continue their barking.
.
3:31 a.m. I turn the hose back on and return to the garden. Caitlin is back down the bank waiting for me. She darts in and out of the stream of  water, dancing just out of my reach. Within 45 seconds we are both drenched. The chihuahuas are still barking.

3:35 a.m. I finally catch Caitlin and drag her to the bedroom door. I wake Rob again and ask him to put her in the crate.  He says, " Aargh! She's all wet!"

3:39 a.m. I have turned the water off, taken my soggy clothes off, and gotten back into bed. Rob is asleep.

4:15 a.m. Rob is snoring. The chihuahuas are barking.  I can't sleep. I get up.

8:45 a.m. I wake Rob. I note that he carpet near the door to the patio is sodden and muddy..

Caitlin will be sleeping in the crate for the foreseeable future.