Our Sweet Dogs

Daniel and I really love our puppies. Although only one of them actually is a puppy, the other 2 seem to think they're still little babies. I should probably introduce them before I start talking about them as if we all know who they are... :)

First we have Mika. 5 year old Chihuahua (who Danny thinks is mixed with some kind of cattle dog after seeing one at the pet store in the mall). She is probably the biggest drama queen you'll ever meet. She is the one in charge of the other 2 dogs. She thinks she is a big scary guard dog and barks her little girly bark at any strange noise she thinks she hears.

Next, we have Quimby. 5 year old Chihuahua mix who we think is mixed with a Jack Russell Terrier. He is thinks he is a baby and is afraid of just about everything. He doesn't play with toys or the other 2 dogs. He is perfectly content to sit and have you rub his belly all day long.

Finally, our newest addition to the family, Sadie. 8 month old Lab/Pit Bull Mix. (They said she was a lab mix at the humane society, but we've pretty much decided she is definitely mixed with a pit bull) Her name is actually Mercedes, but only because that way we can tell people that we have a dog named Mercedes Bienz and then they'll leave us alone. We have never actually called her that though. She is a sweetheart and a very big baby; very smart though. She and Mika are pretty much best friends and play together all the time. Mika always needs to have whatever toy Sadie has, even if it is a rawhide bone that is so big it hardly fits in Mika's mouth...

Watching and taking care of these 3 is definitely preparing us for parenting. They really are more like 3 kids than you'd think. All with their own personalities and mannerisms, it makes it very fun and sometimes challenging.

Lately, their newest thing has been escaping out of the backyard when we lock them out. And by they, I mean Mika. Sadie sometimes helps out, by digging the holes under the fences with her shovel paws. But Mika has jumped on top of tables and through the slots in the fence on her own multiple times also. She is obviously bitter that she has to be locked outside and is trying to tell us that we need to stop doing that to her. Quimby has gotten out with Mika a couple of times but not many. He is too afraid to leave and run the neighborhood without one of us.

We're kinda torn on what to do because we can't leave Sadie inside while we sleep or while we're gone because she chews everything up. (So far we've lost one, almost 2 of our couch cushions, a pair of Dan's glasses, a photo album from our honeymoon, a nerf football, 2 Wii nunchucks and 1 Wii classic controller, 1 Wii controller skin, many bags of garbage, etc.) But I feel bad locking her outside and letting the other 2 dogs have free reign of the air conditioned house. But it isn't good for Mika and Quimby to be outside very long anyway since they're so small. Luckily it's been rainy so it hasn't been too hot.

What do you think we should do? I mean look at these angels. They could never do anything wrong...right?