I always wondered why our dog Viper never, like most dogs, chews the squeakers out of his dog toys. He is not typical in so many ways, but in this way he distances himself from any other dog we have ever owned. (Okay, we have never “owned” dogs….they are ALWAYS just family)

But I suppose one of the reasons could be that our dogs are part of what you would not consider a typical family.  Our home environment and our life could be seen as fostering this lack of squeaker OCD in our dogs.

Case in point is tonight’s picture, which is of all three of Viper’s chew toys.  For you see although in most families each might have a call name like “squirrel” or “chipmunk” or “bunny,” in ours the names are more descriptive.  Thus you are looking at “The Squirrel of Pain,” and “The Bunny of Peace” and “The Chipmunk of Consternation,” who Ben calls “The Chipmunk of Disagreement” as he cannot say “consternation.”  And of course there is a big difference between disagreement and consternation, but neither Ben nor Viper seem to mind. The both just seem to accept and live well in their relationship filled with artificial rodents.

Quite interesting enough, The Squirrel of Pain is actually not the original.  We feel the original IS somewhere on our property (probably being held somewhere by the cat) but the second one (pictured here) is its replacement, or perhaps better said, the spare.  In theological terms we might call the missing rodent Squirrel of Pain the Great, while the one pictured Squirrel of Pain the Less.  But seeing as Ben (who is just 6) is struggling with understanding consternation, I think my hopes for the whole theological thing may be as realistic as my professional ice hockey career…..it only exists in my mind.

But of it all I do not worry.  Our life is fun, full of adventure and surprise, and lots of old but still functional squeaky dog toys.

I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+