I'm at a loss, and thought someone out there would have some advice....

I have a 12.5 yr old Australian Shepherd, Nala, that has taken to being an escape artist.

A bit of background:
All her life she has stayed out in the yard when I go somewhere. She was so used to being outside, that when I wanted to leave her in the house it was a wee bit of trouble to keep her from running out the door when I left.
Last fall I had a slightly younger dog die, pretty much of old age.

After Branwen died, Nala started escaping. At first it was only after dark. But lately she's been escaping during the day. I know where she's getting out, and have tried, to no avail to block the path. Today I got a call from a lady 3 blocks away that she had caught Nala out in the street. Nala was at least on the route we usually take when I take her for her evening walk.

Nala is pretty much in good health for an old lady dog. Maybe a bit confused, going deaf, and has cataracts, but otherwise has nothing that concerns her Vet.

So I suppose she'll have to stay in the house when I'm gone, which gets to be an issue for long days or rather days that run into evenings.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.