$10 — ENDLESS FUN

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 345

Today I was out and about, visiting members from here to there and everywhere in between. One of those members just happens to be rehabbing 40 miles from Comfrey in the great, sprawling metropolis of New Ulm. Since she had a stroke last week, I wanted to pop in and see how she’s coming along.

Anywho… I found myself right in the middle of the big city—population 14,000. Compared to Comfrey, that’s basically New York City, minus the subways and overpriced pretzels, hahaha. Since I had already braved the urban jungle, I figured I’d hit Menards to pick up a few things. And just as I was rounding the doggo aisle, I wondered if they had any shiny new toys for our pups.

See, Gus-Gus is a certified ball-a-holic, especially when it comes to those spikey, rubbery, squeaky ones specifically engineered to drive Mom and Dad nutz. No kidding; he has about seven or eight of them scattered around the house like landmines. And he doesn’t care if they’re oblong, deflated, no longer squeak, or covered in who-knows-what—if he has a toy in his mouth, all is right with his world. That said, when one has Boxers, structural integrity is of the highest importance. Forget a stuffed animal; those get "unstuffed" into a living room blizzard within minutes.

Well, as luck would have it, I spotted the bestest toy ever. It was made of that same spikey, squeaky material he adores, just a bit bigger and shaped like a donut ring. In my infinite wisdom, I figured it’d be great for him and Arlo to play tug-of-war with… I was wrong. Dead wrong. Sharing is apparently not on the agenda.

But oh my, does Gus-Gus love his new toy or what? It’s bringing him endless fun and joy, and even with the nonstop squeaking, that warms my heart.

If you’re a pet owner, chances are your furry friends are more like fur-kiddos; at least mine are. My wife and I probably spoil our boys way more than we ever did our girls. (Sorry, girls—blame the empty nest syndrome.)

Anyway, as silly as it sounds, I’m thankful I found this $10 hunk of rubber at Menards, because it’s bringing the boys endless fun—well, Gus-Gus anyway. Arlo is currently sitting over here cry-barking because his baby brother is hogging the precious new ring! Life is so ruff, isn’t it? Especially for a pampered Boxer.

Anywho, what are you thankful for on this 345th day of this blog?