This is the story of the second crate Wrigley destroyed…

After Wriggs destroyed her steel crate, we decided to leave her out in the house, and just puppy proof the place.  She did okay for about two months.  The one day, we came home to find a couch cushion destroyed and stuffing everywhere!

Derek about lost it.  I was ready for something like this, having grown-up with dogs.  I warned Derek about the possibility of this, but I don’t think he truly prepared himself for this occasion.  See, Derek grew up with cats, and the only thing a cat destroys with his mouth is the occasional mouse or squirrel.  NOT STRAY DOGS!!!!!  These guys have the reputation for destroying anything and everything.

Back to the main point, Derek was not expecting the carnage of cushion he walked into and preceded to SHOW Wrigley her mistake.  * SHOW: Mashing the side of her head into the cushion.

Yelling, I stress the fact to him that his little lesson is not doing any good, for him or the dog.  She has not clue that her head in the side of the cushion means don’t eat the cushion.  I also stress to him that the one time he misses the cushion he will hurt the dog…or worse!  Then he will only be mad at himself.  I told him to leave the house and I will have the mess cleaned up by the time he gets back.

This trip he took to cool off he used to go buy Wrigley another crate.  He came back to the house 30 mins later, with a new $100 crate (plastic) & dinner in tote.  I was really happy to see some food.  I think the food was an apology for him loosing it.

From that day on, Wrigley was crated again each day.  She chewed on the new plastic crate, but seemed to stay contained.  We still cannot figure out if the liquid in the crate was slobber or urine.  Everyday the crate floor was completely soaked.  I didn’t smell urine at all, but to be sanitary we cleaned the crate every night and Derek gave her fresh towels to lay on every morning.  We were washing towels all the time!

One day after work, we went to a friend’s house who was giving us a bed for the guest room.  We loaded up the bed and headed back to the house to drop it off.  Derek opened the door and yelled back to me, “She’s OUT!”

My jaw dropped.

This is what we walked into…a hole in the wall of an upside down crate!

About two weeks after we adopted Wrigley we came home one day to find that she had escaped from her crate.  Derek and I thought it would be best if we crated Wrigley for the first few months while we were out of the house. This way she would not destroy anything in the house, or hurt herself. We were unsure of her temperament, and wanted to keep the house in tact.

So one afternoon we pull in the drive and say to each other, “Is that Cohen (he is not crated during the day) AND Wrigley looking out the window?!?! “No way, she’s crated.” we say. Well to our amazement upon opening the front door…..Wrigley HAD escaped from her crate.

Somehow this weak, skinny, just birthed a litter of puppies dog had bent the steel in her crate just enough to squeeze out of the bottom bars. Not only did she escape from the crate, but she broke the plastic tray in the bottom, pulled a carpet (from across the room) inside of the crate, and got into the pantry & shredded three new paper towel rolls.  This was no wimpy cheap crate. This crate successfully contained Cohen for a year when we would go out. But, it finally met it’s match when Wiggley Wrigley came along.

This little girl is a fighter. Now I can see how she survived so long out on the streets.