I was doing yoga this morning (now wait, when does she find the time to do yoga?) actually Calvin had a special school trip he had to be to school at 6:45 for, so The Hermit drove him and I found myself with an extra half hour I would otherwise fill with the activities of waking up. Coffee was already made, the younger offspring did not need to wake up until 7, so I seized the moment.
While I was doing some balance poses, I heard some moving and shaking from the porch, where Maggie the Chesapeake's crate is located. Normal, I thought, but it persisted. Uh-oh, something is not right.
When I looked out onto the porch, I found Starflower's new $70 Lands End jacket, which I had been so proud to order for her, next to the kennel, and the sleeve DRAGGED INSIDE. I pulled the sleeve out, and knew right away it was irreparable. Damn. I know dogs gotta chew, but HOLY SHIT! It's a $70 jacket for God's sake!
I had no choice but to order a replacement this morning (along with a pair of boots for SF that had gone on sale and a shirt for myself, on sale). I am very grateful that we have the means to replace it. I didn't know if The Hermit would get a paycheck for late December, since he has been on leave, but it happened, somehow.
So tell me, are Chesapeakes good for ANYTHING?
And, A Hermit update. He decided to go to a meeting in Grand Rapids, 120 miles away, overnight. Good for him, I think he's ready.
8 comments:
Sorry to hear about Starflowers' jacket, but I hope you got a sale catalog from Land's End, mine came last week, with some mighty fine bargains.
It seems my prayers have been answered with the Hermit out and about, sometimes it just is a matter of time, thank God!
Nature Knitter's Mom [Betty K]
Glad the Hermit is feeling good enough to out.
Sad for Starflower's jacket.
I've never owned a Chessie, but I've sure had a lot of things destroyed by adolescent retrievers of the Labish pursuasion.
Chessies are good (obviously) for chewing!
I am so glad that Hermit is feeling up to getting back into the swing! It will likely do wonders for his self-esteem to be back out there doing "man-things".
Good for the Hermit! Restoring his sense of independence is so important, as I have recently learned for myself. I hope it goes well for him.
Bad dog! Chew the cheap stuff!!!
and how do the dogs know what is the most expensive stuff to chew on too??
Hey, that's great news about The Hermit! I'm glad he's doing better these days.
BettyK- I saw some of their specials on the Internet, and I had to hold myself back to order only one shirt for myself. I may be back!
And thanks for your prayers.
FC- We humans have learned a lesson from this re: proper jacket storage i.e. hung up on the proper hook.
Barefoot Gardener- I was happy to see him going out, but he seemed kind of discouraged when he came back, maybe because he felt he couldn't perform up to par. It's a long process.
Denise and RuthieJ- Thanks for the good wishes. And you're both right, the dogs seem to always find the most expensive stuff to chew on!
Heh! Man's best friend, indeed! Around the same time that I got my prized German Shorthaired Pointer, the Mrs. got a cool new pair of Dr. Marten boots - at least we still have the dog. Not long after that, the dog chewed up a Mad Bomber hat and gnawed a hole through my camera bag and just about got sent to the pound.
Similarly, Lucy the Lab will just chew the heck out of any sort of shoe, hat, or glove that she can get her paws on.
As for your Maggie, just how do you discipline a Chesapeake, anyway? I don't think they realize when they're in trouble, and I doubt that they remember much of it afterwards.
Sorry about your daughter's jacket! I know how you feel!
"The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is to waterfowling as the hub cap mallet is to auto repair."
Eric- I love that quote about Chessies- so true. So I guess it is a universal thing...you get a Lab-related breed, it will chew the heck out of something expensive. And you're right, I don't think discipline is something they'd really "get". :)
You should see our couch.
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