I have occasionally been asked by new puppy owners, and people who have owned their Ridgeback for quite some time, how long it takes to be able to trust the dog to not chew on or wreck things. The short answer is never. Ever ever. Give up the dream of a well behaved dog who turns a blind eye to those shoes you left out, who doesn't dream of taking advantage of the unblocked-off litter box, who would never think to dip a tongue into the glass of milk on the coffee table, who recalls unfailingly on a walk in the woods. Let the dream die. Really.
Recently I started working at a retail store. Yes, I am employed. Fortunately it's part time and thankfully my new manager is easing me into the work force very slowly, allowing me to get used to using my brain for extended periods and speaking to real people during the day instead of just my dogs and cats. It also helps that the dogs, accustomed to being with me 24/7, will also be weaned onto a work schedule so that they are not traumatized by a 9 hour day 5 days a week. Honestly I just don't think I could handle that either!
So what do the two above paragraphs have in common?
Well, while taking a shower this morning I failed to recall that after returning from work yesterday I had left my shoes out. Shoes which are normally stowed in the closet. After preparing for work I spotted a shoe on the dog bed in the livingroom and, irate, I picked it up to find the heel a little chewed. Not awful but salvageable. I glanced up to retrieve the other shoe and found it ... missing. A brief, but resigned, hunt, found it in the expen. Totally beyond rescue. So there I stood, with one shoe in critical but stable condition and the other shoe ... terminal. Both into the trash. I looked down at the innocent faces (upon which benign apology was writ large) and said "You guys are LUCKY I work in a shoe store!"
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