I have mentioned our puppy, Sophie, in the past — adjusting to having a puppy in the house again, how our blended family of felines have united in a common cause against her — but have I mentioned the difficulties of puppy teething?

Well, actually I do recall mentioning how she was able to extract my husband’s new bank card, and only his new bank card, from his wallet and use it as a chew toy.

We experienced a blessed lull in the whole teething issue for seven weeks, when our adorable pooch suffered a broken leg and had to bear the indignity of wearing the cone of shame. She couldn’t get her teeth close enough to most things to do any damage.

Now, however, the cone is gone and she is enjoying sinking her teeth into pretty much everything. She does seem to have some favorites, like our coffee table and the stairway banister.

Shoes, apparently, are another delicacy and a particular favorite among puppies. In particular, my shoes. I find this perplexing for a couple of reasons: I don’t think I have smelly feet, especially when compared to my husband’s and my step-son’s; and I don’t walk around in places with smells one would assume would be attractive to canines.

I have learned, albeit slowly, to remember to put my shoes in high places when I remove them in areas that aren’t near a closet. Yet, she has learned how to climb things in order to get to them. To date, I have lost four pairs of shoes completely, and there are bite marks in several others. I don’t have a lot of shoes to begin with, so that puts a serious dent in my shoe wardrobe.

I know she will grow out of this and I know it is ultimately my fault for not watching her like a hawk and for being too lazy to put my shoes away properly. But if I show up for an assignment with nothing on my feet, you’ll know what happened.

-Kathy Reed, editor