A Tale of Tissues

This is the first in what I hope will be a series of short tales about the trials, tribulations and sheer joy of being owned by salukis.

Willow, the Tissue Terrorist

Willow was one of the most beautiful saluki babies I have ever seen. She was the perfect sort of grizzle, with masking that accentuated her eyes. When she glanced your way it was like looking into an ancient past.

But from puppyhood till about three years of age, those eyes belied the fact she was a household terror. Nothing was safe. Not books, not food, not furniture. My flatmate couldn’t stand her. He thought dogs should do what they were told, when they were told. Willow, knowing this, took particular delight in ignoring any command he gave her.

Two of Willow’s favourite play items were tissues and toilet paper. This fascination lasted well into adulthood and drove everyone insane. I did a lot of shift work with my job back then, so would often have to sleep in the afternoon. Willow learnt quickly to be really quiet. The only problem was when she was being really quiet she was also being really naughty.

One evening I woke up after a very long sleep. The house was silent. My flatmate was out and Willow had joined me on the bed. I told her what a good girl she’d been for letting me sleep. Then I went into the living room. Every surface was covered in white, shredded tissues. It looked like it had snowed inside. Then I went into the kitchen. It was the same story, torn up tissue everywhere. I then peeked into my flatmate's bedroom. She’d saved the best till last. She’d found every roll of toilet paper in the house and pulled it apart. It was worse than snow; it was like a blizzard had gone through his room.

I spent the rest of the evening frantically putting things back in order. There was no way I could let my flatmate find his room looking like that. Finally it was all done and I left for work. Problem was I’d forgotten there was no toilet paper or tissues left. My flatmate was not at all impressed!

Moral of this story – always ensure you have a secret cache of toilet paper that your saluki puppy doesn’t know about!