The Puzzle Box of Broken Toys

I have a dog that loves to kill toys. Jack Russells are like that. He takes such joy in toy destruction and is so efficient at it that we started a game at our house: How long does the squeaky have to live? The rules of the game: make note of the time as you walk in the door because the dog will be grabbing the toy out of the bag. Hiding the toy is a non-PetSmart bag does no good. He still knows. Make note of when the toy has been destroyed. He’s managed to kill toys in less than a minute.

Until the soccer ball. The soccer ball kept him busy for months. It was almost as big as he was and he’d roll it around the house, paw it, lick it, gnaw at it, roll it into corners and go at it. Finally, he loosened one of the segments enough to get his teeth in to core of the ball and popped it. He was triumphant and carried the popped ball shell around for days as his trophy.

Awhile later it was time to buy him a new toy. Why let’s get him another soccer ball! The last one gave him months of enjoyment.

Brought home the new soccer ball. He pawed it out of the shopping bag, rolled it into a corner, placed his mouth on the spot that had finally proven the downfall of Soccer Ball number 1, and had it popped within minutes. He then pranced off leaving the vanquished and unworthy shell behind.