Dirty Basset

My Mom is NOT a doggie fan! When she was a teenager, her family dog, "Tiny" stole her favorite pair of shoes & chewed them up. She renamed him, "Scupper," meaning thief and his terrible doggie behavior soured her taste for all future dogs. I, on the other hand, am a crazy dog lover! My Mom and I are definitely on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to our feelings about DOGS! But, I will even admit (being the self professed crazy dog lover that I am), there are times when LEO's behavior leaves me shaking my head. People have called me a glutton for punishment, a Masochist, even a Saint. But the truth is, my love for LEO is unconditional and therefore I will put up with all of his antics, the nice, the naughty & the neurotic! This past weekend up at the beach in Maine, he showed us all a little bit of his "naughty" side. After a good long run on the beach, and a nice relaxing nap, he stretched his long basset body, had a great big yawn and got down off of the bed. He nonchalantly headed over to the kitty litter box and before anybody even realized what he was doing, he gobbled up a pretty good sized piece of cat poop! (He had engaged in this nasty behavior when we first got the cat, but hadn't done it at home for a long time) I was pretty surprised that he was doing it again, although everyone at the beach always says that the salt air makes people hungrier than usual. I guess he was really hungry that day, or maybe just feeling like a snack. Sadly, for my Mom, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and witnessed this horrifying act. By the look on her face, I knew she had seen him and I feared she might faint from sheer disgust. Even though she knew what he had done, she started to yell, "Oh my God, he went to the cat litter box! He's chewing something! Oh my God, what is he chewing on?" Well, she knew exactly what he was chewing on, but I don't think she could really wrap her brain around what she was seeing. I just looked at her and in a very calm manner, I said, "Don't worry about it, he just felt like having a little tootsie roll, no big deal!" Let's just say, if her taste for dogs was soured before, it's sour with a side of throw up now. She wouldn't even allow me to bring it up again, because every time I tried, she looked as if she would pass out. What a Dirty little Basset!