My Dogs Chewed Up My Trash And I Still Love Them

I have a love/hate relationship with my dogs. I love them to pieces, but hate the things they destroy.

I love how they play outside with the boys, but hate when they chase cars.

I love how they cuddle up, but hate how desperate they can be for attention.

When I first had Reef, I would cue and sing while holding him in my arms. My dogs thought all the fuss was for them. I remember thinking "As moms, aren’t we always multi-tasking!"

Like the boys, the dogs are named after Arizona towns. And like most things I collect, these dogs were used and thrown away. I purchased them both at the pound.

This is Sedona and we call her Sadie.

She’s a border collie. Sadie is my shy one and sometimes a scardy cat (don’t tell her I called her that). She's the princess and has perfect manners.

Everyone comments on how pretty she is and she's super with the kids.

This is Sierra.

She’s an Australian Sheppard. She’s the hyper, bouncing, ball chasing “in desperate need of attention” type. She’s also the most affectionate and my friends and family love her.

This has been a challenging year with the dogs. Both are around 1 ½ years old and still into chewing. The chewing drives me crazy. The counselor actually has a running total of things they've destroyed, from shoes to balls, from bike seats to strollers and on and on.

I purchased the amazing table at Salvation Army six years ago for $120.00.

I love the shape and the fact that it sits 8. Thanksgiving weekend we had a huge dance/dinner party with the family. We partied big time.

When everyone left, the counselor and I were exhausted. We went to bed and left the kitchen chairs outside overnight.

It was horror the next morning when I saw what the dogs had done!

Yeah, six chairs chewed up. I’m still shook up about it.

My gorgeous area rug I found at Mesa Thrift for $19.99. It’s huge, measuring 8 feet by 11 feet. I can't imagine what it cost new.

I walked in one day and saw Sadie chewing up the corner(yeah, the stains are from her too).

To say I was ticked is a huge understatement.

To find Derek’s office chair all chewed up to smithereens wasn’t a huge deal after all the other destruction (garage sale for $5.00).

Still, not a pleasant experience.

Don’t get me started on the patio furniture. I didn’t take photos of my gorgeous new, yes NEW patio set. It’s all chewed up too.

Heartbreak!

But nothing like how my heart broke last week, when Sierra was hit . . . by a car.

We were all outside in the front when Sierra ran a few feet in front of Reef, into the street just as a car passed by. Sierra’s leg was run over.

She whimpered and whined, then ran into the house. At first she seemed fine, but after a few hours we found her hiding in the back yard not doing well. She seemed to be slipping away before our eyes.

The boys and I gathered around her, prayed and expressed our love. We were bawling. Then, I carried all 45 pounds of her to the truck and took her to the vet.

After an examination, the vet suggested we give her some time.

“I’ll admit, she doesn’t look good, but I’ve seen dogs come back after injuries like this. If she survives the next 24 hours, I think she’ll be alright.”

We brought her home and treated her like royalty. She laid on a plush rug for almost a week. I made her favorite meal, whole wheat blueberry waffles with syrup and we had lots of long talks about love and how our family needs her.

A week later, she’s running around the backyard with Reef, chasing a ball he’s been throwing at her.

Funny, I look differently now at the chewed up furniture. It’s not that big of deal. I’ll find new stuff out and about at yard sales and thrift stores, better stuff. Chandler said to me, “Mom, I don’t care about our stuff. I just love the dogs.”

He’s right, but I still look forward to the day the dogs stop chewing. According to the vet, we only have another year to go.