Blue Belle ate my friend's shoes today. Ann Taylor Loft, tan and brown, size 6 foldable leather ballet flats. Last week it was a friend's white leather wedge sandal open toed shoe. Before that my mother's favorite black sparkled slip on heels with cushioned soles. And the list goes on.

I need Blue nowadays. For comic relief. As a poster-child for life's absurdity. But Blue Belle eats things. And then she's cute. She is always cute. A Brittany Spaniel straight from Nashville. A southern belle, with a cow pattern draping her fur, and an irresistible feathered boa-like accent under her tail. Her ears perk upward like ponytails. Her eyes are a butterscotch brown - so large and round - you'd swear she was a lost child finding shelter in a winter coat.

I love her no matter what she does. Brand new rug destroyed? No problem. Three gesticulated computer chargers in one week? She must be teething. Defecation on the entryway floor? She was just saying hello.

Her name is not just Blue Belle anymore. It's Blue Belle What Are You Eating!

We no longer have area rugs in our areas. I have just one pair of flip flops left for the summer. Our sofa that survived six seasons on the set of Big Love, even with teamster drool in its cracks, now has but one life left. A dog's life. Blue rolls onto her back between the cushions, and spreads her legs to the walls. Because she can. Her teeth peek through her upside-down lips that reach for the floor below. Her eyes follow the children around the room, luring them in. Like an awkward cow at rest.

Blue is the oversized puppy that never stops. Even at seven months old, she is a toddler in her mother's shoes. The only kind she doesn't eat.

I love her because she actually cares when she's done something wrong. I watch as she hunches her shoulders and makes the shameful march beneath the bed. It makes my heart ache because hers is so pure.

So I tell myself, she liked those shoes so much she had to have a taste. She marked the couch today so she would know it was her place. She chewed the toys because they were old. She swallowed the car charger because the phone gets in the way - Of loving her completely. She has had to learn patience, for mankind, because we are so hard to train.

Blue Belle is a blessing. Even if I am unable to see it through mangled wires and shoes that had to die. At least she knows to love without any strings attached. Except perhaps a shoelace on my size 8 1/2 blue suede shoes she ate because she knows I can't walk right now anyway. She was actually cleaning out my closet. Because she loves me too. And also just because she can.