But teacher, my dog ate my -

SHOES!!!

What is WITH this dog lately?! I don't get it. He's usually fine with this stuff. He's had a MAJOR oral fixation, lately, and I wanted to kill him!!

He was SO good yesterday evening. I was doing dishes, and when I usually have to listen really closely to his every move, and wonder what he's getting in to - he just sat there in his window seat, and watched. Then slept on the floor of the kitchen. He was being awesome!

But I guess... he's slept since then. Because this morning was not so cool. At first, he had gotten some mail off the table (a favorite pass time of his), and as soon as I told him to "leave it"... he did! It was fantastic. We were both happy AND he got lots of lovin' for it. Apparently he misinterpreted that to mean "Hey... why don't you go get something ELSE you're not supposed to have. That'll be fun!"

Just so you understand how this happened, let me give you a little info. McStudly is switching back to his night schedule, which means... he went to bed SUPER late last night, to sleep during the day, so he's awake for his 12 hour shift tonight. Translation - I have to get ready out of the bedroom so as not to wake him up. So... with that... I continue my story.

I brought my clothes out, and set then on the back of the couch, then let the dog out and fed him, etc. While he was eating, I did everything in the bathroom and blah blah blah. Well - I went into the living room to finish getting ready, and Austin was chewing on what I thought was his bone, over by our chair in the corner.

I finished getting dress...

looked down to put my shoes on...

and there was only one.

???

Picture my face as the SUDDEN realization hit me - he wasn't chewing on his bone - he was chewing on my SHOE!! So... I whisper-yelled (the kind you do when you can't be loud, but you want the whisper-yell-recipient to REALLY feel your anger and frustration - like when you draw on the hymnal in church - because it is, after all, a giant coloring book for young children, isn't it? - and your mother just doesn't appreciate your creative genius...) at him, and pryed it from his mouth, only to find that he had now chewed a nice, big-toe sized hole RIGHT in the front of my last pair of work shoes.

nice

And - I say last pair, because he snuck (yes - snuck. he's berry berry sneaky... we underestimate his sneakiness) into our bedroom, last Thursday evening, and ate my other work shoes.

Needless to say, whatever shoes I buy today over lunch (at the PX - ROCK ON military discounts!), in order to replace the slippers (Yes.... slippers) I had to wear to work today, will always be in only one of two places - on my feet, or in their original box, in my closet.

Dumb dog. *sigh* But I love that little dirtbag.

How can anyone resist this face?!