The Doggy Diaries... gone to the dogs!

Harry and Sally are Free!

Although our front yard is far from being complete, I just didn't feel good about keeping our salamanders, Harry, Sally, and Tiny in captivity. So today, with a bit of a heavy heart, Travis and I set them free in a large bed of ivy in our back yard.

In an attempt to encourage them to hang out in our yard, Travis dug a little hole for them in the middle of the ivy bed and covered it with a brick like we used in their terrarium. We are hoping they will like their new environment and will feel familiar enough with it to stick around and make our backyard their home.

Tiny was a California Slender Salamander and was active during the day. Within a few hours of placing him in the ivy bed, we discovered he had taken off for parts unknown. Harry and Sally are nocturnal salamanders, so we will be checking tomorrow morning to see if they return to the little brick-covered cave we made for them.

How silly of me to feel sad over this event. It was never our intention to keep them forever. We just wanted to save them from being eaten by the rototiller in the front yard and from being smashed while living under a pot planter (which we accidentally did to one salamander earlier this year). However, over the past couple of months, I had become quite fond of our little gaggle of salamanders. I know we did the right thing, but I feel a tinge of sadness inside. The only pet we still have now is good ol' Ted the Fish.

To Harry, Sally and Tiny, I wish them a fond farewell. They will be welcome here in our home any time.