Holes

(Repost from March 2009. I think this is my favorite Rocky and Stella post from the old blog. Rocky passed away earlier this year from cancer and Stella passed away last year from heart disease.)

Rocky's not so bad these days but he used to be all about the holes. It must have been that whenever I left the house, he'd think to himself, "That prick left me alone again. I can't believe it. This time I'm really going to show him," and then he'd get to work chewing out one perfect little hole in the blanket or sheet he was sleeping on. It was never like he tore anything to shreds. No, that would be too much work for Rocky. It would be just one hole, maybe two, and that would be enough to satisfy whatever urges were driving him.

When I got back home, I'd find a little circular cut-out lying on the floor and then I'd go searching for the newly minted hole.

He'd work through a blanket over the course of a couple of weeks or a month until it was more holes than not and then I'd have to throw it away and bring out a new one.



Luckily, I had splurged on Rocky's blankets at Valu Village and had bought several of them at once so each cost me maybe only five bucks (that Bambi one may have cost seven) but unfortunately, Rocky went through a phase where it wasn't just blankets.

Here's a cushion that I made a few years ago (yes, I was crafty).

Rocky must've thought it needed some updating because he pulled out a little hole in one corner to register his disapproval. Not big enough to throw the cushion out. Just big enough so that when company comes over and sees it, they're like, "Shit, you've got major mouse problems here." Yes, an eighty pound mouse with an obsessive compulsive disorder.

He also did it to this one ...

and this one ...

The most ambitious Rocky's ever gotten with his hole making ventures was on the sofa.

This was quite atypical for Rocky because he would have had to stand to create this hole and he's way happier lying down on the job.

Of course, being the self centered human I am, I think all this hole making is directed at me but it may not necessarily be so. Rocky may actually be exhibiting passive aggressive tendencies towards Stella. Our house is quite cold at night and the dogs moan and groan if they're not warm so I made some pajamas for them. During the day, though, I take the pajamas off and that's when they can sometimes fall victim to Rocky's assaults.

Here's Stella modeling hers with some nice detailing work from Rocky.

Strangely enough,Rocky's pajamas, on the other hand, appear unair-conditioned.

Rocky's hole making has greatly decreased in the last few months. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe he's come to realize that even though the humans sometimes leave the house without him, they always come back at some point. Or, maybe it's because he's ten years old now and he's just decided to retire his hobby so he can spend less time hole making and more time farting - which is not as visible as hole making but possibly just as bad.