Remember the post about paper? Well, sometimes I let Fin have some old wrapping paper or paper towel rolls now. Last week she got to play with the wrapping paper from the Christmas gifts. I love to watch her ripping the rolls and papers to shreds, even though this means picking up a million little pieces afterwards. She is so happy and animated that I wonder if there’s anything that could top this bliss. You know other than food or treats.

I was going through some stuff in my storage area when Finley wandered in behind me and started sniffing through the piles of stuff I keep there. A few seconds later I hear her run away and there’s just enough time for me to turn around and see that she has something in the mouth, the tube from a roll of wrapping paper. I couldn’t help but laugh when she tried to get through the opening she had to force the tube through.

Since I was stuck behind one of those mountains of stuff I decided to let her play with the tube. This way I would know she wasn’t getting into she wasn’t supposed to. And thus I created a little paper-shredding monster.  She know thinks that any piece of paper that she can get her paws on is fair game and I’ve got her shredding other stuff that she maybe should not have. Too bad her shredding technique isn’t good enough for financial documents and old receipts that I need to get rid of.

I love drinking ice cappuccinos (from Tim Hortons). Apparently, Finley shares this affinity. I knew she liked the smell of it and would probably love to taste it. I’ve known this since I got her. I had one in the car the day we went to adopt her and she obsessed over sniffing it and trying to stick her nose in the opening to get at it and by stealing the straw.

I often get one when we go out and now that I have the seat belt, I have left one in the cup holder while I ran into the store a couple times. I will no longer be doing this. Today, I bought a small one and left in the car with her while I ran into Omer DeSerres (art supply store) and then Staples. I came back to the car and my ice capp was untouched.

Then we went to the pet store to get her shampoo and a pet water bottle. It was safe again but only because she gets to go into that store. Then I ran to Wal-Mart to get a different shampoo for her. So while I was in there, somehow she managed to step on the seat belt latch and undo her seatbelt. I was surprised when I walked out the store and she was lying down on the seat, instead of watching for me or barking at strangers.

I got to grab my drink when I realize that something is missing. At first I thought I might have knocked it over with my purse since I’ve done that before but no. Then I notice that someone is playing with a plastic cup that’s been licked clean. Intense panic sets in. There’s coffee, chocolate and loads of sugar in these drinks...all things dogs aren’t supposed to have. I immediately call my dad who calls the technicians at the vets. They have to go and consult with the vet on this, apparently this doesn’t happen often.

I was told not to worry about the chocolate and coffee in the drink, it wouldn’t be toxic to her since she only got a small portion of the drink. Thankfully I drank most of it by then. The sugar however worried the vet because it can affect her pancreas. Just have to watch her for the night, feed her a smaller supper and make sure she doesn’t throw up, if she does  I have to take her to vet’s. After hearing this I started to feel calmer and a little less worried.

It’s been almost 4 hours now and she isn’t showing signs of being sick, so I think she will be okay. However, we just feed her supper so it’s still wait and see with her. 

Paper is thy enemy! *shakes fist in the air* Alright so that might be a little dramatic, but paper and Finley equals trouble for me. She loves it to pieces, quite literally. I can no longer leave paper lying around, if I do there’s a good chance that she will come along and turn it into a “toy”. Toy might not be the right word, since she it gets destroyed immediately.

There have been many times that she’s swiped a piece of paper, only to carry it off to hide under a table, bed and even once the couch before ripping it to shreds. After seeing this there have been a few times that I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened to my homework. I mean “my dog ate my homework” has got to be the lamest excuse for not having your homework but how often was that actually true. I could have even brought the little bits of paper with me as proof that it was true.

Last week I was sorting through the 15 or so boxes of miscellaneous papers I’ve accumulate in the last few years – Finley must have thought she hit the paper jackpot. The job could have been done in a day and a half if she hadn’t been so helpful. Instead, it took twice as long since I ended up having to chase after her and collect the little pieces of papers she left in her wake. She must have been really sad when most of it made its way to the recycling bin outside.

Her paper addiction is also displayed when the front hall closet gets opened. We keep a smaller recycling bin there and empty it out occasionally in the huge one that sits in the yard. Well, after getting Finley I had to reorganize some of the shelves to keep the more dangerous stuff out of her reach, so now the paper recycling bin sits on the lowest shelf- at Finley height. The second my dad gets his coat to go outside to smoke (tsk, tsk), she beelines for the recycling bin. We’ve actually shut the doors a few times with her inside the closet, not that she noticed. She was too busy rifling through the bin for paper.

She also does this to toilet paper, stealing the whole roll from the bathroom, so now we have to keep the bathroom door shut. She’s only destroyed 4 rolls to date, which is alright with me since my dad had gotten the wrong kind when he bought it last time. At least when she steals some paper, she has the good graces to look guilty when caught.