Stolen things are more interesting...

It's a mistake I've made too often.  I have no excuse for it either, other than that I am so unbelievably forgetful that I actually anger myself.  The problem is that, after a long walk or a long day at work, I come in and my feet are aching so I pop down my boxes and bags by the door or hang them on the end of the stairs and promptly forget about them.  People tell me I shouldn't.  People shout at me for doing it. But, despite all of this, I just can't help it.  I forget!

At 10:30 every night, almost to the second, I drag myself up to bed.  My eyes are so tired that I never notice the pink and grey dog walking bag or the little blue handbag just sitting there.  They are like an invitation except for the sort of invitation that you can't get into very easily and you have to tear up to get inside.  Do you see where this is going?

Anyway, Sports Direct had these lovely useful looking walking bags from Karrimor in their walking section.  Immediately, my crazy dog walking lady instinct screams "DOG WALKING BAG!"  I love a good bag at the best of times and I'm a bit of a sucker for useful compartments.  Well, to my utter joy, this bag has tons of them.  It even has compartments within the compartments!  A laptop section too!  It was as good as sold the minute that I locked eyes on it but the deal was definitely sealed when I saw that it came in dark pink and grey too.  Seeing that they were £15 each or 2 for £24, I tried to convince Damien to get one too.  He shrugged and commented that he had better things to spend his money on.  Fine.

So, I paid the £15 and, after getting the bag home, immediately transferred all dog walking paraphernalia into it.  That was that.  For about a week!

Lovely, a brand new pink walking bag just in time for our holiday in the Lakes!

One Wednesday night, after a successful dog training session, I returned home feeling exhausted, popped the bag on the end of the banister and retired to my favourite arm chair.  I went to bed as usual, leaving the bang hanging.  Big mistake!

After an hours dog training both Caesar and I are exhausted!

By the morning, the bag wasn't so much a bag as a sleeve.  Caesar had ripped the bottom out.  Unfortunately, I hadn't even noticed this until I went for a walk and everything started dropping out of the bottom with every step that I took!

I found myself back in Sports Direct the following week, telling the shop assistant the story as I paid my second lot of £15.  "I wish I'd just bought 2 at the time," I told her as she scanned the bag, chuckling.

At least this one has lasted longer.  I must have had it for two whole months!  It was a few nights ago.  Again, I'd been to dog training and again I had flew through the door cold and wet, carrying Caesar, who hates the rain, with the bag slung over one shoulder.  I put Caesar down and the bag slipped onto the floor as I did.  Foolishly, I left it there.

RIP bag number 2 - ripped up by Caesar.  He has created his own opening into the main compartment as the zip is in front of the pink band!

When I came down in the morning, Caesar had ripped into the bag which is now broken beyond repair.  He had taken two things.  The first was half a packet of treats (no surprise there) and the second was a toy which he NEVER wants to play with.

Since stealing said toy from the bag, he has played with it so much that it's all chewed and misshapen!  Perhaps he sees it as the prize for all of his hard work!

'Nooooo, I've worked far too hard to get this!  You can't have it!'