Contraband

The moment Charlie goes outdoors, he begins scouring for contraband. It must be carried out into the yard and then tasted, preferably chewed. And who knew there were so many toxic plants in the entire universe?! Wisteria pods, magnolia pods, sticks, roots, bark from the planting beds - what's a mother to do?

And if that weren't enough, Charlie has learned to play, well, "catch me if you can". Having claimed a piece of contraband, he runs around the magnolia tree, always keeping the trunk between himself and his chaser. He may be small, but he's fast!


Catch me if you can!

Enter the solution. We went to the pet store and found a contraband toy to exceed Charlie's wildest dreams - a toy so horrible, it could barely be bought - can never come in the house - must not be thought about much - a rope with hooves! Yes, hooves. Yes, horrible. Yes, he loves it. Even more than pods and sticks.


Charlie and his new favorite toy.

Now Charlie and we are happy. He loves to chew on the, um, toy. We play "catch the toy" or "catch Charlie with the toy". And the bark stays in the beds. And we are able to find and remove the pods before Charlie can get them.


Get it!