Just say "Yes".

My humans are language challenged. They only know one word. “No”. If they would like to expand their horizons they should try the Thesaurus, it lists six more words they could use. Instead they just repeat “no” over and over again. They think that by using the word “no” in higher and shriller tones they are communicating better. The latest was last night.

Trash cans are for trash, right? I looked up the meaning of trash and it means something you no longer want, you want to dispose of it, rid yourself of it. So when the humans throw something in the trash it should be all right for the resident dogs to use the contents of the trash can in their quest for a little fun, right? But no, when I grabbed an empty cat food can out of the trash can in the middle of the night and tried to quietly chew on it in the corner of the bedroom; they woke up and took it away from me. It was not as if they needed the empty can, they did not want it, they just did not want their loyal friend, the dog, to have it. They took it and threw it into a different, and harder to reach, trash can.

There was some good to come out of it. When they find me chewing on things I should not chew on, they go out and buy more dog toys. Bella and I go through toys rather fast. We play tug-o-war constantly, and very few toys can take our punishment. Tonight they came back from the store with five new, ruggedly built toys. I appreciate their concern, but it would be just fine with me if they would just leave the trash cans out for me, it would give me something to play with and it would save them money. To my humans I have a simple message. “Just say Yes”!