Life & Love with the World's Worst Dog

Cover of book

Ugh! Where to begin...

For those of you who have read Marley & Me, the story I am about to tell you will sound familiar. When I first saw this book last year, I was instantly drawn to it.

Riley 9 weeks old - 2001

As you can see, I have a beautiful dog, Riley, who looks almost identical to Marley. So of course, I had to buy it. It was a beautiful story about a very mischievious dog and the life lessons learned by the owner. I laughed, I cried, I wept uncontrollably - but mostly, I felt like I was reading the story of my life with Riley.

Before I go much further, I have to say that I LOVE RILEY. He has been such a blessing to me and he has many great qualities. Most of the time, he is well behaved, but then there are days that test my devotion. If I didn't love him so, he would be living on a farm somewhere... trust me.

Riley has some behavioral problems... to be specific, he has severe separation anxiety. So... slight changes in the normal household routine can result in a complete melt-down. When he gets stressed, he likes to make a mess. Apparently today was a stressful day.

I couldn't believe what I walked in on today. If I hadn't been completely enraged, I would have taken some photos so you could share in my experience. The neighbor probably thought I had gone completely insane... I was screaming at the top of my lungs.

The trash can, which belongs in the kitchen, is one of those big heavy stainless steel kind. It has a lid that he cannot open... or at least so I thought. Apparently, when you push it into the dining room and tip it over, the lid just comes up on it's own. Trash everywhere... in the dining room, in the kitchen, in the den, in the living room and even in his room.

He managed to find time to get my small Longaberger canister down and chew it to shreds. And, Rich will be so happy to know that he got in his golf hat samples and pulled out the big straw hat and shredded it too. Wasn't that nice of him?

It's days like these that I seriously question my desire to have a dog. Rich is back to travelling again, which leaves me here alone and the dogs (yes, there are two and the other one has a totally different set of issues that I won't bore you with) completely stressed out and anxious. I seriously don't want to have to medicate the poor pup, but I am coming to the realization that that may be the only way that we can get through these rough days when Daddy is on the road. Calgon, take me away!

**Anyone else have a bad dog?**

**Have you read Marley & Me?**