As you can tell from my post earlier this week, we had a four-legged house guest over the weekend.  Normally, Wrigley spends most of her time being annoying either by pecking at Cohen, or barking at the wind and anything else that may pass by our house (she thinks anything she can see from the window is her territory).  Well, she found a new way to be annoying this weekend.  YEA!!!!!

Wrigley would peck at Ellie’s side until Ellie would play tug-o-war with her.  Aaaaaaaand that’s what the two girls did just about all weekend.

Wrigley was a rescue dog we adopted from a GSD Rescue called, Mid-South Shepherd Rescue.  To my dismay, I found out recently that this remarkable and admirable organization had to stop accepting dogs.  You see this GSD rescue/adoption effort was funded and operated by one very kind-hearted woman, Pepper Stidmon.  Pepper helped save the lives of and find permanent home for over 400 GSD in the Mid-South area.  One of my friends helped out MSSR by occasionally offering foster housing to dogs waiting adoption.  Since Pepper operated the program from her home; there was no way she was able to house every dog waiting to be adopted.  So, people like my friend offered up their homes while these sweet animals healed, underwent various treatments (medical & mental), or simply waited to be adopted.  MSSR did not have a fancy kennel.  Every dog that was part of this program was placed in loving foster homes until they could be adopted.  I was told by my friend that he fostered one dog that was adopted by a family in Connecticut.  Can you belive that….freakin’ Connecticut!

Wriggs was a scrawny, bony, boob-a-licious little thing when we adopted her.  She nursed 7 puppies for 2 weeks under a trailer in West Memphis, AR.   We were able to adopt her once all of her puppies were weaned…that’s why I say she was boob-a-licious.

After this little girl broke out of one crate,  chewed her way out of another, and destroyed numerous items around the living room; she went a few weeks without destroying a single thing.  IS IT REALLY OVER?  NO!  (For whatever reason only items in the living room were on her menu)  Wrigley never disappoints.  We came in one day and a she decided to eat some of the cushioning on the arm of the couch, and the next day all of the cushioning was off of the arm.

A few days later, she began eating the cardboard backing that the padding was wrapped around, and chewing on the wood frame.  I hunted down some bitter spray and lacquered the couch with the stuff.  She stopped eating the couch.  VICTORY!!!  To prevent that nasty chewing when I put up the Christmas tree last year; I hosed down that tree too.  After putting ornaments on the tree, I made the mistake of touching my finger to my lips, and as I licked my lips, I was assured that the bitter spray was indeed BITTER & NASTY.  I don’t know about Wrigley, but that stuff totally stopped me from chewing on the furniture.

Yesterday, while putting the storm windows back on the back windows of the house; I noticed my sweet little princess being as cute as a puppy can be.  This sweet adorable little girl was playing with a giant stick while we were working, and decided to take a breather right next to a surprise lily in the middle of the yard.  Not on it, not 3 feet away from it, but directly next to the brilliant red flower.  Every so often the wind would cause the lily to graze her ear just enough to make her ear twitch.  So funny!  I grabbed Derek’s iPhone, and in an attempt not to excite her from her adorable pose I began to capture this rare and precious moment.

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.

I have decided to use a photo of my dog Wrigley as my first submission to the I ♥ Faces :: Pets contest.  Wrigley is a rescue that was found under a trailer in West Memphis, AR nursing 7 puppies.  They believe she had been there for over a week; starving herself and caring for her newborn pups.  She just melts in your arms, melts your heart, and is grateful for every moment she spends with you.  So even if this photo doesn’t win, I’m glad I got a chance to share her story with you.

Wanna check out more great entries?  Click here… I ♥ Faces… and check some out.