Scavenger

Don and I were sitting in the den the other night when Donovan wandered in. He was chewing something and Don wrestled it out of his mouth.

"It's a toy soldier!" he yelled. "Where did he get this from?"

Then, to Donovan, "This is not YOURS, little boy." He looked sternly over his glasses at Donovan, who sat remorsefully pleading up at him.

A few minutes later, Donovan disappeared from the den, only to reappear a few minutes later, chomping on another item. Don pried it from him - one of the children's stuffed animals. Don lectured the puppy yet again, and Donovan appeared contrite. Until ...

This continued through several different items. Don was absolutely fit to be tied. I gave Donovan a chew bone. He quickly hid it in the den then ran off to find another toy, this time a wooden stand from a sign from the boys' train set.

Don nearly lost his cool. I gave Donovan a second bone, which he also managed to hide in the den. Finally, he curled up for his evening nap on the loveseat next to me.

"You know, I caught him up on the kitchen table earlier, eating Daelyn's lunch that he left behind," Don informed me.

"Did you?" I asked. "I caught him on the table this evening, stealing the remains of Dane's cookie."

Donovan has learned to run under the table and knock the bench with his shoulder, forcing it out from under the table. Then he uses it as his own private stepstool and scampers up onto the table, devouring anything and everything left behind. I've warned the children over and over again, but Daelyn grazes all day and will leave food items on the table several times a day, just beggin Donovan to climb up and eat them.

"It's a miracle he's EVER well," Don commented. Unfortunately, despite Donovan's appetite, he has a sensitive stomach and most people food makes him sick. He runs outside and stops to eat grass on the way to the van.

I guess if we're going to have a dog that's a scavenger, we'll need to keep the grass longer.

He's almost as good as owning a goat.