oh no my dog is hungry

My 12 year old poodle has discovered he is a dog. He grew up riding in the back bench seat of our van, and now that we sometimes ride in my husband's SUV Cole has discovered the joy of a lowered window with the wind rushing through his curls. He is still careful, only a nose goes out. He's like that.

He rests whenever possible.
He has old joints but he still needs mental stimulation, and we won't allow him to play on the computer or have parties when we are gone.
So we try to take him with us when we can.
Last Saturday we had places to go that would not be dog-friendly  so he had to stay home.



 I found a few items at Home Goods. Here are two towels that have quilt patterns woven in...

Aren't they wonderful?? The only problem is they just might be the kind of weave that smears the water around instead of absorbing it. Still, they make me happy just looking at them!

Also, since we are always on the lookout to make our boy Cole happy we found another fox, some treats, and a new food bowl for him.

I have wanted this bowl since we saw it in a boutique in Alexandria about 6 months ago, see the post here
(click here to see that post)

Well, we came home to a bad surprise. In our absence, Cole had gone into the dining room, found the dance bag that holds our contra gear, and had one of my shoes, the right shoe,  for a snack...

 First of all, we take him more places than most dogs get to go. He is an only dog, and gets lots of attention. He is fed very expensive dog food.
He has never touched this dance bag in over 12 years.
The thing is, I had mentioned in passing that morning that we should go to the dance later that evening...

Weird right?
I was able to cope because he had eaten the older right shoe, so I could still dance.

Then two days later, he again went into the hidden dance bag, the one he's ignored for 12 years! He dug to the bottom, removing dad's shoes on top, finding my NEW shoes and yep! Eating the toe off the right shoe of that pair.
I can't even cobble together a pair from what's left!!
I have bad feet, these are the only type shoe that works, they must be ordered, and it takes months to break them in before I can dance on them.


My friend Pat said Cole might have anxiety now that he's older and suggested a  thunder shirt might help when we leave the house. Anyone have experience with this?