Wait until he sees what I got him for Valentine's Day.

Mr Peabody hides the really awesome things like rawhide bones underneath the furniture in the living room.

Kato just leaves them where he drops them, generally placed for maximum chance of me stepping on them and breaking my neck. Now that he has a Kong, I expect my broken bones to occur within the week.

Chloe never did get the hang of playing (she liked dressup, but didn't play with toys), so we only had to contend with one dog's toys everywhere, not two. Though now we don't have a special Chloe toy to remember her. Just her collar.

Huh. I'm not sure about this phenomenon. Frankie could be concerned about finding the right place. Do you know where he normally stows stuff away?

He might need a pile of blankets or pillows or such for his stash. You can establish it as such by 'burying' a tasty treat and praising him for seeking it in that spot.

The most important thing though is to let him whine and do not engage to try and calm him down or change his behavior. That will feed into it, which could become troublesome over time.

It's kind of cute but you don't want it to actually become anxiety.

I've got one of Amon's half-unraveled catnip balls on my desk at home. He loved playing retrieve, though he never brought the ball all the way back to me. He was a cat, after all.

Now that he has a Kong, I expect my broken bones to occur within the week.

ptui. ptui. ptui. hex hex hex.

I reject these words!

Though now we don't have a special Chloe toy to remember her. Just her collar.

You do have some awesome photos. You could put one in the top of one of those photo boxes and keep her collar inside.

The vet clinic sent us a sympathy card, which made us cry, of course. And it made me chuckle, because *I* was thinking of sending *them* a thank you card for taking such good care of Chloe and, particularly, how unbelievably well they handled everything about putting her to sleep.

Kato is sad, no question. When he goes out to make poops, he goes to the gate like he's making sure she didn't get out. I know it'll take him some time to grieve, but I wish it was easier on him.

He doesn't normally stow stuff, but maybe he would if he had a place to do so. I mostly ignored him once I was sure that nothing was actually wrong.

Though now we don't have a special Chloe toy to remember her. Just her collar.

You do have some awesome photos. You could put one in the top of one of those photo boxes and keep her collar inside.

That's a good idea! Our plan was -- because we spent about a billion dollars with Shutterfly for Christmas gifts (seriously -- 9 or 10 calendars, which adds up), they sent an e-mail earlier this month offering a free 8 x 8 20-page photo book. So I was going to make one from our trip to the beach last summer.

But then I procrastinated, as I do, and then we had to put Chloe to sleep, so now we're going to make a Chloe book. Looks like my procrastination worked out this time.

Go team procrastination. That sounds perfect.

Kato is sad, no question. When he goes out to make poops, he goes to the gate like he's making sure she didn't get out. I know it'll take him some time to grieve, but I wish it was easier on him.

He is sad, no doubt about it. But, unlike people, he will process it fully and be past it soon. Try not to feel sorry for him, it's a natural, desired process. If you were, however, to make some playdates with other dogs or begin teaching him some new behaviors, those would be awesome distractions and ways to engage his emotional life.

He doesn't normally stow stuff, but maybe he would if he had a place to do so. I mostly ignored him once I was sure that nothing was actually wrong.

It's funny, but I thought Bartleby wasn't much interested in his toys until I changed the living room around and turned his toy drawer into a toy basket.

Now, when he wants to engage me in play, to goes over to it and roots around, looking for the one he wants. I fantasize that he's musing about which one is going to get me off my butt the fastest.

When I'm super engaged in whatever I am doing...ie: ignoring him...he'll find a squeaky toy, sneak up behind my office chair and let me have a couple of good squeaks.

Works every time.