Spanoodle Insurance
When Pets Go Wrong
You see this guy right here? His name is Mikey and he’s the neurotic, fuzzy little dude that came home with us one day ten years ago. My wife, Allison, fell in love with him immediately because of his green eyes and personality. But since that time I’ve always had trouble when people have asked what type of dog he is.
You see, he's a Cockapoo, which is a half cocker spaniel and half poodle. For me his official breed name has always provided imagery of a phallic shaped piece of excrement so I’ve unofficially changed it to Spanoodle. With any luck this name will catch on and the American Kennel Club will make the change before The National Dog show airs this Thanksgiving.
He’s been a great dog for our family and he’s relentless about protecting us from anyone passing by our house that he sees out of the window. But there are a few things he’s afraid of. Fireworks scare him to death, which isn’t really a big deal until 4th of July, and New Years come around. He’s also afraid of being locked in a room and of course lightening.
One night, a while back, Allison and I decided to take our girls out to dinner. As fate would have it, it was storming that night and Mikey decided to run into our daughter’s bathroom. It was there that he locked himself in and the real problems began. You see, he didn’t have my wife there to be his Thunder Buddy, and left to defend himself he made the decision to eat the water lines under the sink.
When we arrived home our entire hallway was flooded along with the laundry room and two bedrooms. A quick look into the bathroom revealed a soaking wet ball of fur that ran between our legs and into the family room where he shook from head to toe in an effort to spread more water to another room.
Luckily for us it was an easy fix. I shut the water off at the valves under the sink and then we then rented a Rug Doctor from Publix to remove all of the water from the carpets. The long-term solution was to install steel water lines under their sink to prevent it from happening again. Replacing the plastic lines with steel is a great idea if there's a potential for this to happen with your pet. They’re available at Lowe’s or Home Depot and aren’t expensive at all.
Another great idea: Pick up a water key next time you’re there. It’s a steel rod with a T-shaped handle that allows you to turn the water off at the meter in front of your house. For $10, it’s the best insurance you can buy in case a Spanoodle attacks one of your water lines and you can’t shut it off at the valve. It’s also a good idea to turn the water off at the meter when you go on vacation so that if a leak were to occur the only water available to leak out is what’s already in the pipes.
Hopefully you’ll always arrive to a dry home. Take Care.
