My favorite dog, Grover, isn't mine, but we spend enough time together that I'm feeling the urge to brag about him on my blog.
He's been particularly cute lately. He's a mutt with some obvious miniature Schnauzer in him. He loves anything that squeaks, which I'm guessing is ingrained from a need to hunt rodents.
So far, the only squeaker I've found that holds up to his enthusiastic jaw is Kong's squeaker toy. [3] It generally lasts months before giving out, but Grover tends to misplace his (by dragging it everywhere with him). Earlier this week, he needed a replacement, so I got him a shiny, new blue one. It had probably been a couple days since his previous pink version went missing.
He was along for the ride to buy a new one, and I made the mistake of squeaking it before it was paid for. He proceeded to beg, sit pretty and smile as big as possible to try to convince me to give him the Kong. The PetSmart checker was kind enough to cut off the packaging and hand it to the dog in the store. He took it happily, like a little kid who wanted to wear his new shoes out of the store. (It's possible that I still do this, actually.)
He carried it in his mouth to my car and has since carried it around with him lovingly, stopping every so often for a squeak or two. If he has it, he doesn't respond to "Grover, wanna go for a walk?" Under normal, less Kong-entranced circumstances, he's at the door, jumping and whining. Now, he'll roll his eyes upward at me and continue squeaking.
Yesterday, Grover's owner walked him over to my house while I took a break from sanding [4]. He trotted over, Kong in his mouth. His owner said he wouldn't leave home without it.
Does your pet have a toy he or she can't leave the house without? What is it? Or what's the funniest thing your pet has ever done?
Photo: If you look carefully, you can see Grover's Kong between his front paws. Sorry if this photo's blurry - it's from my cell phone. And I couldn't resist posting another cell-phone photo of his adorable face. This is how he looks when he wants his Kong - or wants to go for a walk.
What a delightful story, Meg!! So glad Grover shares his life with you and Allison. What a good little boy he is ...
Thanks! He has such a funny personality. I can't imagine what life would be like without him. He's such a joy!
My dog LOVES these minature basketball squeaky balls that they sell at Farm & Fleet. LOVES THEM. Everytime I go to F & F I buy at least one because I'm afraid that some day they will stop selling them, and then where would I be? Recently I looked under a sofa and found about 4 of them -- out of dogs' reach. Li'l Rocky is so happy when he has his favorite squeaky ball - he gets all wiggly and runs around the yard with it.
It's funny that you mention under the couch. Sometimes Grove is happy to play chase with his Kong - he holds it in his mouth and play bows, then runs off in a "come get me" sort of way. But other times, his need to be by himself with it is so strong that he crawls under the couch, where we hear "squeak.... squeak ........ squeak." Sometimes he falls asleep with his face on top of it!