My sweet little puppy, Finn, has an odd obsession with my purse. To Finn, my purse is a bag of curiosity and delight. If I leave my purse on any of my furniture Finn will seek it out and bury his little head inside to see what treasures he can find. He politely rummages through it until he finds a particular treat that meets his high standards. He bypasses my hand written grocery lists, thankfully ignores my favorite MAC lipstick, and doesn't even look twice and my id badge for work. No... he is a man on a mission. Finn is seeking food. And I can't even blame him... I am the reason he loves my purse!
I have two dogs and zero kids. So instead of carrying things like cheerios, diapers, wipes, and toys in my purse--I carry extra leashes, a tennis ball, baggies to pick-up "accidents," and dog treats. Not long ago, Finn had been scolded for chewing on something he shouldn't (big surprise) and after a few seconds of looking remorseful, he moved on to his next adventure. This adventure happened to be my purse which I had so carelessly thrown on my couch. Finn attacked it with all of the enthusiasm a puppy his size could muster. He bit and he shook and he flung it around on the couch... and then it happened... a little baggie of doggy treats escaped from inside my purse and landed at his feet like a perfectly wrapped present. Finn quickly abandoned the purse and attacked the treats directly. It was like he cracked a piñata and got all of the candy for himself. He was in doggy heaven. Of course, being the bad, mean doggy mom that I am - I not only took away his treats, but I took away his piñata... my purse. I gave him my sternest "no" and the look that makes small children cry in fear. But my Finn is no chicken... and he is smart. He looked back at me with those sweet puppy dog eyes that say, "I am so very sorry. I will never do that again. Please love me." I bought it hook, line, and sinker. What I didn't know was he was simply biding his time until the next opportunity. And since I am often careless with my purse, it didn't take long for the next opportunity... but I was more prepared and was able to separate Finn and his piñata before he broke it open and got the treats. Unfortunately, I wasn't so diligent the day of the butter incident.
Mr. Finn took advantage of my distraction one evening after work and sought out and found my purse, his piñata. Apparently after vigorous shaking and searching, Finn found a prize better that gold. At least I assume it was something special... after all, he was so excited he couldn't even keep his find a secret! Upon retrieving the prize from the piñata, he ran into the kitchen where I was. He ran around my feet until I paid attention to him. That is when I noticed something odd hanging from his mouth. It was pale yellow, oddly shaped, and in a plastic bag. What in the hell did he have? I bent a little closer to look and Finn sat there so I could get a nice, clear view of the questionable object. Seriously... what was that? And then it hit me... Oh, dear lord.... I knew what it was. And Finn knew the moment when I realized what his very special prize was, because he dashed off at the same time I lunged toward him. My dear sweet puppy had a half of stick of butter in his mouth!!! Let's pause for a moment... you need to not judge me right now. Yes... Finn had butter. Yes... he had gotten it out of my purse. So, yes... I had a half of stick of butter in my purse. Don't judge... there was a reason. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for Finn, I had forgotten about said butter (which was there for a reason) for over 24 hours. That is bad, isn't it? Okay, back to the story... after a few minutes of Finn doing his best NFL running back moves and always darting right out of my reach, I finally caught him and relieved him of his treasured butter. Again I scolded and glared. Again he gave me those sweet puppy dog eyes that say, "I am so very sorry. I will never do that again. Please love me." And again I think I saw the wheels in his brain plotting for the next time.
