Rory & Me

When I first saw the movie "Marley & Me" I thought- how can a dog be so crazy? So destructive? So hyper? Maybe it's because I had grown up with only little dogs so their craziness/destruction/hyperness was proportionally much smaller than this giant yellow lab in the movie. But it just didn't seem like well-trained dogs would act like that...

...and then I got Rory. Don't get me wrong. Rory is a great dog, just like Marley was. She is loving, fun, and full of energy. But leave her alone without toys and BEWARE!

In her short life, just shy of two years, she has already managed to: eat my drywall, chew my cabinet door, eat a rug, rip the back of my couch, and leave her lovely hair everywhere. None of this is all that bad, considering most was done while she was a puppy.

But now... now she's older, wiser, trickier, and well trained. Now she knows what is right and wrong. She listens to commands (mostly) and everyone tells me she is very well behaved for her age (ha!). Now she knows what she is not supposed to do, and has to be extra crafty so she can do it anyway. Case in point: last night. As I was cleaning up dinner, I started to plan ahead for my meal the next night. I decided to make some turkey chili, so I took a 1 pound package of ground turkey out of my freezer and set it at the back of my stove to thaw. I continued to clean and then ran to the store to get a few things. Shawn was at the house, but fell asleep on the couch.

When I came back from the store, I was so tired. I noticed that Shawn had decided to go to bed and had left the dogs out unattended. The first thing I said to them was "wow- he must trust you more than I do!" Then I noticed both dogs licking a wet spot on Rory's dog bed. I went to examine it and saw no evidence of what they had destroyed/consumed so I brushed it off, figuring Rory found a hidden rawhide somewhere. In my desperation to get to bed myself, I put away all the groceries and completely forgot about cooking the turkey for chili.

Fast forward to this morning. I wake up and immediately think of the thawed turkey. I rush to the kitchen only to discover that it's gone. I check the freezer and fridge to make sure it didn't mistakenly get put away. Negative. I scan the room, checking the floors for this tube of frozen poultry. Nothing. It has officially disappeared.

Then I remember the wet spot. Could it be?? Did Rory manage to get on the counter, grab the frozen ground turkey, and eat the ENTIRE thing- packaging and all- before I got home?? Well, at this point, I wouldn't put it past her. She was smart enough to eat all evidence of her crime so I can't really prove anything. I'm half amazed and half annoyed. This dog is a criminal genius.

So much for chili tonight. I guess we'll order pizza.