A recent discovery has forced me to employ some special Sherlock Holmes powers of deduction and observation while try to solve a mystery concerning Elsa. Oh sure, she looks the picture of innocence…all snuggled up in a tight curled ball. Sleeping so serenely. But is that really what’s going on in this case?
A bit of background on this little girl. Almost from the time she was rescued, she would ‘dig’ at her bed. Not just a couple of paw scratches to create some kind of nest, but some seriously digging. Like she was digging to China. She paws, scratches and digs with her front paws, then circles around the heap and flops down. It’s entertaining as all get out, but bizarrely weird since I’ve never had a dog that dug like that so intensely. She goes full-on excavator for several minutes.
A couple of days ago in an early morn pit stop in the backyard, my sweet girl went to relieve herself like a good girl. I was still kind of asleep and it was barely light so nothing out of the ordinary registered in my still sleepy brain. And then we went out again following breakfast (now fully awake) and I’m aghast to see ‘something’ odd and rather indescribable in the pile left earlier. Clearly it was something not exactly typical. OMD…it looked like a piece of fabric! I just shook my head. What the heck had she eaten now?
Notice anything unusual from the above picture of innocence to this full frame photo? Like that hole? While ‘digging toward China’ in the studio, I discovered there was something missing from the blanket that the dogs take turns laying on. It always makes me smile when they switch places on the blanket. First Sam, then Elsa. But when I saw Elsa next to it, I realized there was something unusual about it.
Yup, seems my…ahem…sweet little Ninja apparently ate part of the blanket. I think that what I saw in the back yard might have been that piece of missing fabric although I still can’t say with 100% certainty that it’s not something else. with this girl. Guess I better check the toys closely, my sock drawer, and anything else not nailed down. Oh. That. Dog.
So you tell me…the picture of innocence or mischievously naughty? Either way – yikes!
Live, love, bark! ❤︎
Sounds all too familiar!
Mew mew mew mee finks pickture of innycence Lady Monika….
Elsa you has to hide thee evvydence better next time; jus tsayin…. 😉
~~head rubsss~~ Siddhartha Henry~~
Oh, absolutely pure innocence. 😉
I think there was an attempt to make a poncho. I tried it once. It works really well: https://lifeofbenji.com/2016/02/04/poncho/ Benji
Pawsome! In addition to be many things, now my pup will be a finalist on Project Runway. Guess I’d better check to see the sewing machine is tuned up and ready to go. 🙂
Clearly that part of the blanket just didn’t belong and she was doing you a favor!
Exactly! Probably just needed the pills to be removed from the flannel. Yeah, that’s it, pill removal by a pill! LOL
I think she is the picture of innocence. All circumstantial evidence, if you ask me. 😉
Haha…the circumstances seem to speak for themselves. 😆
whoops, we have some holy blankets at our house too.
Funny puppies! If Max gets a shot at a paper towle with any kind of meat drippings on it, he will eat the towel. Later, he poops the towel back out, in recognizable condition. We call it his “self-wiping mode.” Well now, hope none of you were having dinner.
LOL I don’t know how to respond to that except to say our dogs sure manage to bring us to our knees on a regular basis. Oh Max…shaking head. You little scamp.
Life with pets…you start off with the best of everything and end up in tatters! ;p
the critters in the cottage xo
She looks so sweet! However, we are not fooled by that, we know how that is. LOL
We barely have a blanket or towel in the house that has not been chewed by Riley. He would sometimes get fancy and carefully rip the stitches out of quilts. I am familiar with the phenomena you describe! Oh, and sometimes I would have to pull a hanging piece of cloth the rest of the way out of his you know what.
Oh joy…can’t wait for that day! 😝
We think that is only circumstantial evidence and if the blankie doesn’t fit you must acquit!
Your Pals,
Murphy & Stanley
Pee Ess – I do a special dig/dance in my bed too.
Innocent mischevery?
That’s a good way to describe it!
Chewing or sucking on wool or other fabrics is actually common in some cats, particularly the oriental breeds. Experts think in some cases the animal could use this behavior as a comforting stress reliever…very possible in Elsa’s case given her background.
I’m fairly certain she has NO idea how that happened! She looks so innocent! Even with that little gleam of mischief in her eyes. It’s always something, isn’t it? And half the time, we’re left scratching our heads and saying, “What the @#$%!”
You can’t imagine how many times during a day I say that! Bwahahaha!!!
“Yikes!” is right! Also with that digging, wondering if she is part cat? lol!
More like mole! Hahaha
3 bum swings! 3 more!
In my day of naughty nibbling I liked to chew expensive items like the AC cord ( thankfully unplugged), my huMoms 100 ft rubber hose, computer cords, the car seat belt, well, you get the picture.😉
Hopefully Elsa will grow out of it like I did.
Stay safe innocent one😉
Nose nudges
CEO Olivia
Oh that sweet little ninja! It’s hard to decide. It seems that’s just her thing. She looks quite innocent in the pic but then there’s that hole. Makes me smile. 🙂
Naughty for sure. Oh, E. Where will you girls sleep if you eat all the blankets? You are busted for this naughty behavior.
Love and licks and good luck,
Cupcake
Well I have no advice here, you know that. With Delilah the Destroyer, anything is possible. It does seem odd to me that she ate it, has she ever eaten anything before?
Oh Jodi, where to start? Other than 2 pairs of glasses, how about 1/3 of a thick wool sock, a pair of footlets, shall I continue? That dog is a canine garbage disposal. And you thought you had it rough! LOL 😂
All four of my pups have been bed diggers, with the intensity varying by dog. Kissy used to dig and scratch and rearrange the bed to get it “just so” and then circle it and flop down. Callie went through all the silliness that Kissy did but then she would go and lay down on the OTHER dog bed. Shadow normally just digs and scratches just once before laying down. Ducky? It all depends on….? Her mood maybe? I have no idea. But occasionally – when she’s been particularly anxious – she has chewed holes in her blankies. So far, the newest blanket is still hole-free.
Uh oh. She’s digging to China because she’s pregnant and has a craving for egg rolls.
My Molly is a digger too. She has to squnch up her bed until it’s all uneven and folded in half and whatnot, then flop onto it. It looks so uncomfortable, but to each his own I guess.
I have that princess and the pea thing going on too and there’s NO way I could sleep on a rumpled pile of blankets. Don’t understand how they do it!
Digging, tearing even, I can understand…but eating it! Was it to hide the evidence?
She’s clever, but I think she’s also bold and wouldn’t care. Probably attributable to her puppy mill days.
she just wanted a piece of home close to her, really close
That’s one way to interpret it, isn’t it? Silly dog!
An interesting mystery to be sure, Watson. At least a two pipe problem. Be a good chap and pass me my violin…
LOL, ‘pawsome’ response!
maybe that’s ac of the blanket? it makes sense in summer to have an airhole ;o) Phenny is a bed digger too, from the first day… you should see our bed sheets… like a swiss cheese ;O)
Could be if it wasn’t still a tad crisp temp wise, so far AC hasn’t been necessary. What IS it about these weirdo bed diggers?