Zephyr the destroyer

Kelly wrote about how Logger is a destroyer not once, but twice as of recent (and even again with his naughtiness, which seems to be a theme on her blog). And I wonder (especially after hearing about the Hummel collectible doll Chance ate at K's parents' house): Why do we keep these little buggers about when they wreck so much? (I will answer this, but I have to show you this first.)

I have been collecting evidence on Zephyr: why he belongs in his kennel in the evenings and when we are away at work. Some have heard this tale, but K and I got into a little disagreement as to whether or not Z-dog was ready to venture out on his own. After all, Penelope had reign of the downstairs rather quickly in comparison.

But Zephyr made it evident that he wasn't quite prepared to be left alone--anywhere. Outside, he stripped crabapple buds off the tree, bark and honeysuckle, and helped dig a hole we eventually filled with plenty of his and Penny's poop (a trick K's mother suggested), which has somehow worked (thus far).



Indoors, he loves leather, particularly of the my-shoes variety.


I don't think anything could have prepared me for the Tuesday I came home to this and called K, trying to catch my breath, so shocked was I at the ballooned mess of the kitchen. We baby-gate the two in the kitchen and shut the door to the bathroom, in hopes that damage will be minimal. Of course, when you leave a garbage can (heavy, with a flip top lid--gotten because our cats have enjoyed a little dumpster diving themselves) and your favorite pair of shoes in the entryway, you are just asking for it (apparently). I think Z's potty excursions afterwards were less-than-comfortable, which gave me some satisfaction in losing the entirety of these Docs.




And other lovely bits of destruction: corn cob holder, leather gloves (holiday gift from K's mother), a row of teeth marks on our solid wood coffee table.




Some of you will recall our tough project of redoing the kitchen, from cabbage rose miserable wallpaper to a fancy paint job. This took us days, with the great help of my mother. We replaced the only area where Penny as a puppy had been destructive. And a few weeks later, Zephyr replaced the damage, and even did P one better: look how he's gouged into the walls, and on the white part of the entryway, you can see where the plaster is held up by shaping (not sure the official name of it, but it reminds me of chicken wire). Good thing we did as my mother advised--bought extras of the wood decorative touches and painted them white--just in case.

It actually took the wall to convince K, by the way. I think those shoes might have been enough for me, but K took a little extra. :)


Today, I let the dogs out for a little romp, went back into the air conditioning, and after ten minutes or so, as is standard tradition, went to call them back into the yard. They were there, somehow, despite the new entryway they had pushed open, perfectly framing our tree in the boulevard. I called them indoors, and K was able to fix the fence easily. Yes, I realize this is a Zephyr-Penelope joint effort, but I couldn't resist including it.



Note Penelope kindly demonstrating just how they jump up to greet strangers only moments after K screwed the fence back on. And K is telling her No, which we heard many times as he walked about the fence and back up the driveway. I'm not sure if they'll ever get it, but at least they didn't hop along into the street, greeting hubcaps and whatnot. For as naughty as they both can be, they listen quite well. Come here is something I think they both hear a lot from K's stern voice, and they do, head bowed.


The question I posed, why do we keep this bugger, the boy we call "bowling ball" for his aptitude at knocking us over like pins, this puppy I wanted to call "Grendel" after he nipped me on his adoption day, this dog K also calls "the venomous hippo" for his great gaping mouth (see below)? The little puppy who is clearly not potty trained just yet?


Because he's family, silly. He's not so easy to give up on. (He also happens to be a good, if not stinky snuggler. I appreciate that in a dog.)