This is the face of Evil.

A concerned employee came to me with the story of a sweet dog which had been rescued from an sadistic owner who kept her caged. "She'll be good company", he said and the only comment I had was that I didn't care if she wasn't a designer dog as long as she wasn't destructive. No, no I was assured, but if I hadn't been so bloody distracted by all the shit flying around my head maybe I would have asked WHY the owner kept the dog in the cage.

I spent most of last weekend as La Casa with the dog, Mona, and all went rather well. Many toys were lavished upon her and she seemed quite happy with the apparent good life ahead. On Monday she proved why the previous owner had caged the beast. She tore the fabric off the dining room chairs, books from the book case, and even the wooden blinds. A simple muzzle would not have prevented her from jumping up to and tearing down the ceiling fan as she did. When confined to the bathroom, she chewed the toilet seat. I was face-to-face with The Hound From Hell.

My cries for help brought about a Greek Chorus of "Give her a chance; she's a puppy." I went to Mr. Dog Lover, himself my "ex" and offered him $150 to find the dog a home (immediately) and he convinced the charming husband and wife team of Aura and Greg to take the monster. I, of course, was not actually telling them the extent of my troubles, but did ply them with tasty goodies, lots of champagne, and an invitation to the pool in a shameful effort to charm them. They dumped the devil dog back at my "ex's" the next day. I guess it wasn't worth a pool party to them, after all.

The "ex" refused to return Mona because he knew I had called Animal Control, and has supposedly found a new home. It has been a horrific two weeks, just horrific, but it will take just a few thousand dollars to repair everything here.