Tate was a busy body, and always needed to be near you. He was also an unrepentant counter surfer, that required constant vigilance to prevent him from getting into things he shouldn’t.
When we first got Tate, it was a revelation. He was younger than his brother Garrett when we got him, having flunked out of racing after a paltry 8 races. But his energy level was incredible.
At first, we had much anguish, as whenever we left him alone, he would destroy something. I lost a couple of shoes that way, and more than a few pieces of crockery hit the floor from his exploring. Food on the counter was never safe, and I was terrified that he would get into the knives and really hurt himself.
Then we stumbled upon a secret. While chew toys were great, they came and went, never capturing his attention, even when they squeaked. However, his deepest lust was to eat paper. Soon, we started leaving paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, and parts of egg carton out for him to “discover“, and suddenly, the destruction halted.
Shoes stayed wearable, books didn’t get dog-eared, and my backpack was left mostly alone. All we had to do was to augment his fiber intake via cardboard.
Family harmony!