I've mentioned before that the dogs help themselves around here — beans, cherry tomatoes, whatever's within reach and looks interesting. What I haven't mentioned is that at this point, it's not really stealing anymore. It's employment.
They've got their own cherry tomato plant. Their actual own, not shared, not "technically everyone's but mostly theirs." It's planted where they can get to it, and they're welcome to pick from it whenever they like.
The catch, if you can call it that, is the job description: stay close by, and the tomatoes keep coming. It turns out a handful of cherry tomatoes works just as well as any treat bag for keeping two dogs from wandering off while I'm out working in the beds. Good behavior, paid in produce.
I don't know what that says about my negotiating skills, giving away part of the harvest for something they'd probably do for free anyway. But everyone around here has a job, and theirs, apparently, is quality control and staying within shouting distance. Feels like a fair trade.