Oh the joys of my dogs

I tend to complain about the funny/ridiculous/annoying aspects of my life on this blog, so I might as well bring up another. I am a dog-lover. I don't know what I would do without Candy, my bichon/maltese mix or Lucy, my yellow lab. But sometimes I just want to strangle them or throw them  a bone so far that they never come back. Anyone who has been to my house would know that it is a jungle. If you are visiting my house, I know when you have arrived before you have even walked up the drive way because my dogs both begin barking uncontrollably (but then again, they could just be barking at an invisible squirrel running across the street). Then as soon as you come inside, you will continue to hear a chorus of low-pitched lucy barks and high-pitched candy yips, a hideous harmony of never-ending barks that will give you a headache. Candy will be jumping all over you and Lucy will be running around in circles with your shoe in her mouth (she will then come up to you with the shoe still in her mouth, giving it to you like a present).
My mom gives the "they're actually very well-behaved, they just act up when guests arrive" schpeel to the guest, whether it is the Schwann man or my sister's newest sophomore crush. It is all a lie. Yeah, we tried to train them. But let's face it, we failed. Candy is only about 8 years old, but she acts like a menopausal woman. She often seems to be blind (when she claims there is a squirrel outside when there really isn't), demential (she seems to forget that you were JUST in the house, you simply went outside to get the mail), and bipolar (one second she is cuddling in bed with you, the next she is growling at you like a rabid beast). Not to mention her addiction to ripping up any underwear that I leave on my bedroom floor...

Lucy is a different story. I really do love her. She's adorable, and when she rests her head on my knee with her sad eyes while I'm eating a slice of pizza, I can't help but rip her off a piece of crust. But she just drives me  INSANE sometimes. Instead of going all "Marley and Me crazy labrador stories" on you, I'll just let you enjoy the photo on the right to capture the frustration I was feeling toward Lucy on Friday morning.

P.S. My TOMS were my favorite pair of shoes ever. I bought them last spring in a California Whole Foods and they have become a part of me. This is a memorial for them, and all that they helped me through. Rest in peace, olive green Whole Foods store TOMS. You lived a great life.