Lockdown

In light of Sadie's recent adventures in the cookie cabinet, we decided to get a child safety lock. Now, my boyfriend couldn't find any at a hardware store, so we went to Amazon. What we ended up with can only be described as a feat of lock engineering.

The lock mechanism is nicely hidden inside the cabinet. You can flip a switch to disengage the lock altogether, or allow it to latch every time the door closes. And the door closes snugly, so Sadie can't get a paw in the crack and lever it open. That means, though, that humans can't get in either.

 Maxwell likes to help

Here's where the fun engineering comes in. The lock can be disengaged by a magnet. It comes with a nifty magnetic knob, which you simply place on the outside of the cabinet door. That unlocks it, and you can use the regular know to pull the door open.

Can you see the chew marks on the top, real knob?

The bottom one is the magnetic key.

My boyfriend installed it late last week. On Saturday, we left the dogs alone to go shopping and play pool. When we got home, the bottom of the stove had been yanked out yet again and the doorknob had been gnawed on. But the cabinet was still closed! The small packet of treats I'd intentionally left in it as a lure had worked, and proven the lock Sadie-proof...

That's not the small bag... that's the big bag!

...for now.