Will he? Or won't he?

it's been a week since jerry and mike built new basement steps for us. they put new, wider risers over the old risers, braced 'em up, and screwed everything down. so now instead of turning my foot sideways to fit on a step i can dash up and down the stairs with ease. doug, too, as long as he folds in half so as not to decapitate himself on the low clearance.

but of course we built the stairs not for ourselves, but for boscoe.

as reported here previously, he stopped coming back up out of the basement about a year ago--too steep, too dark, too scary.

so has he come up the new steps yet?

well, no. because so far we haven't been able to get him to go down them.

mostly, he just peers nervously around the kitchen door and refuses to leave the main floor at all. occasionally, he'll come down as far as the landing. but no farther.

riley, on the other hand, peers, dashes down, strolls around the basement, dashes back up again.

of course, he had no trouble with the old ladder-like steps, either. (i swear that dog can levitate.)

we're going to carpet the new steps, for traction, and then try again. stay tuned.