This morning I had First World Problems.

Does anyone want a puppy? A brownish-red, small, mixed breed little terror? His brief interludes of adorableness are interspersed with spikes of general jack-assery and lots of chewing. Lots and lots of chewing.

I know today is not Monday, and I only say that because I swore I wouldn't blog about Mondo unless it was a Monday. Mondo Mondays.

But I can't help it because what he did this morning can't wait three days to be told.

It is not that he can't be blogged about more, but I'm finding that Mondo and I do not have separate identities, thus the plan to minimize how much he controls my life/writing/sleep/friendships, etc.

This morning, as was the case yesterday, my car windows were frosted over and needed scraped before I could get to the MK/AM household to babysit IK.

I got in and started the car to let it warm up. I turned off the heat because it was blowing cold air into Mondo's face. While the car was warming up, I started scraping the windshield with a CD case because I don't have a scraper and this is only the second day I've needed one. Yesterday was the first.

scraping, scraping, scraping.

After two days of pressure and cold, the cheap CD case snapped in half. No more hobo scraper. Right as it snapped, I thought I heard a clicking noise.

I reached for the car door to get another CD case or a credit card. And it was locked.

Little Mondo was on his hind legs, paws stretched to the door panel, face pressed to the driver's side window, whining.

I was now locked out of the car. And my house keys are on the car key ring. The one in the ignition.

I know that Mondo hit the locks. In the past, I've been worried about the car automatically locking while   I left the engine running. I tested for this possibility and discovered that as long as the car was in park, the locks wouldn't engage.

But the unpredictable factor in this scenario is Mondo.

I checked all the doors. Locked.

Mondo  ran around in the car, following me from door to door as I checked the locks.

The rear passenger window was cracked. Yesterday I took IK, age 3, to the Children's Museum and he cracked the back window so he could "feel the air." I was adamant it was too cold to feel the air. But the back windows and locks are not automatic so I had no way to stop him from using his foot to reach over and crank the window down.

I borrowed a hanger from the neighbor, a woman I usually try to avoid. Not a mean lady, just the type to sneak looks from behind closed curtains.

The metal hanger wouldn't work because it wasn't long enough.

As I'm trying to get in the car, Mondo is screaming like a baby.

Thankfully, my cell phone was in my coat pocket.

I call MK and she doesn't answer. I call AM, she answers. I explain that my damn dog locked the damn door. Not only is the car running, but I know I'm almost out of gas because the gas light flashed yesterday.

Cooler heads always prevail and AM had the perfect suggestion.

The mechanic shop I took my car to in October is three blocks away. I walked up there and the mechanic was happy to help. He walked back to the car with me, his Slim Jim kit in hand. Not a beef snack, a car lock-out tool kit.

After consulting his manual to see how my car's locking mechanism works, he set to work but it was tough going.

Mondo in the mean time, was back on the panel watching the mechanics every move and whining.

Oh dear God, I thought, please let Mondo hit the lock button again. But Mondo only does things Mondo wants to do, and unless it is about food, he is unpredictable at this stage in his life.

The lock was proving to be a pain in the ass and Mondo was more concerned about possible abandonment to do his part from inside.

"Wait! Didn't you say the back window was cracked?" the mechanic asked.

Yes!

He went around to that window and in two shakes, his longest tool was able to hit the latch pop the lock open from the inside.

As he packed up his kit, I ran around making sure all the doors were unlocked and left the door cracked.

The mechanic went on his merry way after refusing to take payment. Such a nice guy! I recommend  K&M auto on SE 50th if you ever need car repair.

I almost had a heart attack during the whole process. But Mondo? He forgot about it in three seconds. As soon as I got in the car and turned on the heat, he climbed in his bag and fell asleep.

Damn dog.