The Dog Ate My Holiday Cards

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“If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.” – Pema Chӧdrӧn

Cooper, the puppy, ate my holiday cards. Not all of them, thankfully. I managed to send quite a few out before he got into the box. But what really got me, is that he chewed some that I’d already written.

Sheesh! It’s hard enough to get it done in the midst of the holiday season. But then to have to redo some? It kind of derailed me. I’m still finishing up sending them out now.

But what’s more interesting to me than my ability, or lack thereof, to get the task done is HOW it happened that the puppy ate the Christmas cards.

When I go with the kids upstairs to do their bedtime routine, I was leaving Cooper in the family room/kitchen with the doors closed. Dealing with two young ones in that last hour when we are all so tired was all that I could handle. I thought that solution was to keep Cooper out of the mix.

One night after getting the kids to bed, I came back downstairs and Cooper had eaten the Kleenex box. I got out a new one and <doh> put it in the same place.

The next night, he ate the new Kleenex box. So I put the new new box up on the shelf and then gave him a chew to work on when we were upstairs. He ate the chew – and then the napkins in the napkin holder on the table.

Okay, Cooper likes paper. So I removed the napkins from the table. But then the next night he got the holiday cards.

Grrr. At this point I was nearing my wits end. Then a friend that came to stay with us offered, “Maybe it’s separation anxiety.”

I thought that was an interesting idea. So I tried giving Cooper his chew and left the doors open. Guess what? He’s stopped marauding the place. And he doesn’t even come upstairs to mess with our routine. Every once in a while he’ll come to visit, but he’s calm and unbothered.

If I had to count the number of times that I’ve had to learn the lesson to lean in to the problem instead of trying to shut it down or lock it away – well, it’d be a pretty high number. Funny how unintuitive it is to open up as a response to a problem instead of shut down. But it’s equally as amazing at what an effective solution it can be.

Now I just need to train Cooper to help me finish sending my holiday cards.

58 thoughts on “The Dog Ate My Holiday Cards”

  1. Thanks for sharing this event, Wynne. Your post reminded me that when our puppy, Ike, came into our lives, he chewed the corners on the ledges of three bay windows. Impossible to replace, we repaired each corner with a decorative brass cover. Looked better than before and stopped further teething. Best of all, we have an indelible memory of Ike, one that always makes us smile.

    Liked by 7 people

    1. What a great story about Ike! Oh my goodness, what a wonderful solution to fix the ledges with a cover. Funny how destruction leads to a fond memory. I sent a few of the cards with chewed off corners off to friends who thought it was really funny!

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Angus would have that look with a decorative wrought-iron topped wicker bathroom trash can connected to his collar. Yes, he ate the tissue or toilet paper
        rolls. He reminded me of the Christmas story character dragging the chain.

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  3. He certainly did, didn’t he? My husky puppy chewed the corner off a brand new desk and was madly at work on the corner of a coffee table before I caught him. Who can blame him? It was right there at mouth-chew level and most likely the most fun thing he’d done all week. Still—like small children, they do try our patience, don’t they—regardless of HOW adorable they are or how much we love them!

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  4. Judge, as lead attorney on Cooper’s defense team, I would like to highlight all the wonderful things poor little Cooper has done in his short life and point out that he was merely protecting the Leon Family. He thought the paper products were going yo be used to hurt the Leon children. In fairness to him, sneezes and coughs do look rather painful. He took one for the team by attacking the tissue box first. So as you can clearly see, his behavior should be rewarded with hugs and treats!!!! We beg the judge for your understanding and patience. And with that, the defense rests! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

    Liked by 5 people

      1. Oh, the perfect career would probably be one of those people at the carnival/circus who the knife thrower throws at! Don’t you think? Ha, ha, no, no, poor lil Cooper needs some people on his side. He’s just defending the kids. He’s chewing up the paper for the kids. You can’t blame the poor little guy. If you ask me, it sure sounds like he deserves an extra treat or two tonight!!! Ha, ha. I bet Mr. D and Miss O would be in complete agreement. 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  7. What a little booger! 🤣 Though how sad that he had separation anxiety. I’m glad you’ve found a solution that works for everyone… may the homework, holiday cards, and Kleenex will live to see another day!

    Liked by 3 people

  9. You know how much I love all of this…metaphorically ‘leaving the door open’ for sweet Cooper. So he likes paper? Eh…he’s adorable and I’m sure he only wants to be part of the action – including your lovely bedtime rituals with the kids – should he choose to partake! Cheers to you for the revelation. (And I love Brian’s quips below about coming to Coop’s defense! Me, too!) 🥰

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  13. Olive attacks the toilet paper rolls from time to time. Our yellow lab Angus would eat anything, so I sympathize with you. The worst thing he did was dig up hot water pipes and manage to eat through one. We had hot water spraying in our side yard.

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  14. We only send out a handful of Holiday cards, but we do personalize them a fair amount in the “notes” sections. I can only imagine the feeling if we had written all of them out and then came back to find them eaten. That would be a hard pill to swallow…or in this case literally some hard cards to swallow.🙂

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  18. The dog truly did eat your “homework” – lol. Glad you figured it out – yes, my brother’s lab would get separation anxiety when they were apart. One summer when my brother dumped his dog on me while he was away for ten days (I told him several times I couldn’t take him because I worked long hours and often worked 7 days a week), I had the pup outside on a lead that let him run the length of the yard (a clothesline setup with a pulley and lead) and moments after I went to work at 6:15 am, the dog started barking. After a day or two of early morning barking, a neighbor got in touch and told me what had been going on in my absence. I then put the dog inside with a bone to chew on and came home eleven hours later to diarrhea everywhere. Apparently, an uncooked beef bone didn’t agree with his system. When my brother returned, I told him if he ever did that again I’d take the dog to a local kennel and give him the bill. I love dogs and loved this beautiful black lab, but I didn’t have a dog because I worked crazy hours.

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  23. That was a very wise insight that your friend shared. It’s interesting how pets, like our children, also display their emotions through their behaviour.

    I was thinking it would’ve been amusing to send your holiday cards with the chewed up version. It’ll certainly be unique and novel and reflective of things going on in your life. Not sure how the recipient would’ve received it though! 😆

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    1. Well, funny that you mention it, Ab, because I did send a few chewed up ones. Especially the ones where Cooper chewed off the Cooper, 5 months, part of the greeting because it was so fitting. I got some laughs from that! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  27. Great story, thanks for sharing. We had a dog who used to live to tear up paper and cardboard too. Sounds like you’ve figured out a solution, which is great. As for the Christmas cards, maybe he can just sign them all with a paw print? Personally I would love getting a card from the family dog! Good luck!

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