Teething trouble

Lyka, the puppy, went through an intense phase of teething where absolutely nothing on the floor was spared. At the time I was enrolled in a convent and we had to wear those awful black "Mary Jane" like shoes with our regular uniform. I, like a diligent child, had polished my shoes the night before but made the cardinal mistake of leaving them in puppy reach. Come morning, the straps that were supposed to buckle the shoes on were missing. And there were telltale bite marks around the scuffed edges. Lyka in the meantime looked very sheepish and was wagging her tail as if to say, "Was I not supposed to eat that?" I, of course, had to go to school with a note that actually said the dog ate my shoes. I don't think the nuns at school were very amused.

We had read somewhere that ice helped soothe teething trouble for dogs. So we tried giving Lyka ice cubes to gnaw on, hoping she'd leave our valuables alone. Her expression, like so many others, was priceless. She sniffed at it, gave it a perfunctory lick and watched the ice melt into a puddle. She looked very happy about the whole process.

The funny part is that Lyka seemed to think anything in her reach was fair game for chewing. So a year down, I again made the mistake of leaving a prized possession (I was 11 at this time. Don't judge me!), my long haired Barbie, on my bed while I had gone out to play with friends. I got back to find doggie drool all over the doll and an arm chewed off. Unfortunately, I gave in to my temper and Lyka got a solid yelling. She realized immediately that something had gone very wrong and spent the rest of day trying to make up for it by being extra nice (read following me around like a baa lamb and keeping me constant company).

Lyka in her old age lost a lot of her teeth. I always wondered how she chewed through her food. I think on most days, in her hunger, she just swallowed things whole. Doggie dentures, now there's an idea!