Best Laid Plans of Mice and Women
Recently, I was in my favorite store, Earth Pet. This store is one of a kind and always gives me good advice about the dogs and their needs. I buy food, treats and best of all some of the cutest, most unusual toys. They know our dogs, Toby a at 53 pounds nd Faith, and the dogs are welcome in the store (leashed of course) at any time. It is not unusual for Pearl, the dog's favorite clerk, to request that I bring the dogs out to see everyone on a Saturday. You even get a one time 15% discount if you give them a framed picture of your pet to hang on their wall. The particular day I went in, a sales person walked in with the cutest toy just the right size for our Big Brown-Faith. Faith is a sweet, gentle, playful, energetic, female, ball hog, chocolate lab, weighing inof pure muscle. The toy was made of fleece which meant Toby would not chew it up and it stood 26" tall and slender like a wiener dog. It was called a "Monkey Stick". It had 5 different places where it would squeak. I immediately ordered it, knowing it could really be Faith's toy. You see Toby takes over any toy that comes in the house. He thinks everything is his. I knew by the size of THIS toy Toby could not lift it, would not chew it up (Toby will not chew up fleece.) and we had the "perfect" toy for Faith and it was way too big for Toby to dominate and pull up on the couch. You see he is a Shih Tzu and weighs 14 1/2 pounds.
Wrong, wrong, wrong, oh boy was I wrong!
Vern and I got the Monkey Stick out for Faith today. Toby had known all week exactly where it was. Faith looked at it, smelled it, stood there and did nothing. Along comes the Boss, Toby, and he squeaked it, rolled it across the floor like a log, picked it up by it's head and pulled it across the floor and then he proceeded to pull it up on the couch. The toy is several inches longer than he is! How could my plan go down the drain in a matter of seconds! Vern squeaked the toy in the middle and Faith got scared and dove under the table. Faith went back and picked up her ball. All she wants is a ball and we now are putting the Monkey Stick away. Soon, we are getting out the video camera to take a video of Toby playing with his "new toy". Oh my, now Toby is standing at the table barking at the toy, just hoping it will jump off the table.
I have learned my lesson and I will buy Faith balls and more balls and more balls. She is a ball hog loving Lab. Once in awhile, she will play with one of Toby's toys but usually even that toy is in the shape of a ball or bone. I also will remember that my opinion and plans do not count in Toby's mind. Whatever toy I buy is Toby's.
