After that insight, there was nowhere to go, ethically at least.
Almost every morning, I am awakened by the sounds of little dog feet racing swiftly up and down the hardwood floor of our long hallway. Schuster! They can sometimes corner him for a bit, until he does the drop and roll, but the second their attention wavers he is off again. This morning it was intense. He usually has a long toy tiger dangling from his mouth, which irritates Frollie all-toys-are-mine. Since we bought three of them, she is continually frustrated, of course. This morning Schuster had the thin blanket that like Linus he takes to bed.
I wearily lifted myself to one elbow and immediately laughed. Schuster was in the bedroom doorway, dragging this thin chartreuse (thank you Humane Society) blanket into the hall. Then he ran halfway down the hall, I heard a yelp, and ran back to our bedroom, still dragging the thin chartreuse blanket, apparently unscathed by any bigger dog encounters, and without dropping the blanket, he turned and ran again. Laughter is truly a delightful way to begin the day.
And that is the heart and soul of our relationship with Schuster. No matter how many papers he tears up, no matter how much trouble he causes, he makes us laugh.