A Shameful Latte

Recently, my sister in law sent me a link to a website, http://dog-shaming.com/. It is hilarious!  What's really funny about it is that any one of the pictures could be of my dog, Jack.  He is a one year old boxer/german shepherd mix.  He weighs upwards of 60 pounds, and he has had a very busy year in my house.  In case you haven't seen the website, it shows things like a sweet looking dog surrounded by what's left of a nice sofa or a puppy next to a note that says "I just ate an entire lobster dinner."

Here's the thing, though, I realize that all of the photos should have an owner-shaming photo with them.  Someone actually left a destructive dog alone with valuables.  I know because I've done it, many, many times.  I'm not sure why I think he won't get anything off the counter, table, couch, etc.  Just this afternoon, after I started composing this latte in my head, Jack took a library book off of the dining room table and had a snack on the corners.  Mary Jane was not happy, and I'm going to have to talk to the school librarian in the morning.

So here it is for all to see.  Take this as a warning if you are thinking of getting a puppy.  House breaking is easy, chewing habits are not. And puppies get big, really quickly.  Here is a list of things that our puppy has destroyed, it is not a complete list because some things are just too hard to put in writing:

My Dog and Owner Shaming List

• A full wedge of brie cheese
• One pair of really nice Chaco flip flops (I replaced them today after 6 weeks in a cheap pair)
• Part of our couch
• Most of the screen from our porch
• Mason's teddy bear's eyes (that led to a not fun trip of button shopping for replacements)
• Too many of Mary Jane's shoes to count
• Socks - we know this because of what we've seen in our backyard
• Many, many tupperware containers
• A babysitter's cell phone (surprisingly, she came back!)

As I'm writing this, I'm watching him try to get a cord out from under the TV stand.  I keep thinking he will calm down soon or our grumpy 6 year old dog will whip him into shape.  Still, he curls up next to me when I'm going to sleep and I'm pretty sure he's the most effective security system we will ever have.  

Beware of puppies, babies are lots of work, but they ease into it.  Puppies will chew anything they can from day one, and "free" puppies might end up costing close to $1000 within the first year - at least if you go to the humane society, the puppy will come with a set of vaccinations.  Still, we are a household of dog people and the house would seem empty without them.