The shredded paper trail is a common sight in my home as well. I never did get to use "the my dog ate my homework" excuse in high school, but as far as important document go, I have had to use that excuse before.

My brother and I own two dogs. Lennon is almost 5 years old, he only eats important things when he is mad about being left alone. Carl is also 7 months old, and he loves to act as our important document shredder. (By the way, I think he may be the cutest document shredder I have ever owned.) He too, is usually rewarded with kongs and the like. But he has about as much freedom as his kennel allows when no one is home.

We tried giving him a chance to grow from a puppy to a house-roaming big puppy a few weeks ago, bad idea.

We left him in a spare bedroom with a bone, a bed to sleep on, a window to look out and Lennon, his 5-year-old chew toy.

For some reason our mail was tastier than the bone or Lennon's ears.

We came home to a pile of shredded mail that was on a night stand. It was frustrating, but he's a puppy. We want to trust the little guy, but he loves mail. As we cleaned up the mess of Xcel and Qwest bills we noticed his bone didn't satisfy his hunger, as he ate half the night stand as well.

No more freedom for Carl. I hope he likes his kennel until he gains our trust some day down the road.

But how can you be mad at those cute little faces?    

Does your dog want carryout? I'll bring him my taxes. I really don't feel like doing them this year.