Ever since Sampson was a puppy, you could ALWAYS trust him around food. You could literally put your plate on the floor and say, “Leave it,” and he would. Unless it was steak or butter, then all bets were off. Because, well…steak and butter.

If I made a list of things Delilah has eaten, well, let’s just say you’d be here a while. I wouldn’t trust Delilah with a plate of food for all the money in the world. Yes, it’s true, we’ve worked very hard with her on her boundaries, and I could zip out of the room for a few seconds, but no longer than that.  Even then, you’d be tempting fate.

Most times, missing food usually happens when neither of the bipeds are around.  Based on the evidence at the time, we’ve always blamed Delilah. And yet, we’ve always wondered, “What if it’s not her? What if it’s Sampson? What if behind that sweet, innocent face lurks the tongue of a thief?”

“Nah!” We laugh, and shake that silly notion right out of our heads.

Until…

A few months back, Delilah and I were taking our morning walk, when Hubby, who was on his way to work, stopped and said, “The secret’s out.”

I’m probably thinking it was a good thing it was dark out, because I’m pretty sure my face had that blank look that says, “WTF are you talking about?”

Turns out Sampson figured out Hubby’s little secret.

See, Hubby has a little way of spoiling the dogs. If they’re good while he’s in the kitchen, they get some banana chips. But because most mornings Delilah and I are walking when Hubby is in the kitchen, Hubby has taken to leaving some banana chips for Delilah in the spot she usually sits in. Delilah of course, cannot wait to get back from our walk, where she runs up the stairs, bursts through the gate and gobbles up banana chips.

BUT, on the morning I’m speaking of, Hubby placed Delilah’s banana chips on her spot, and then had to go back to the bedroom for something. When he came out of the bedroom, he heard crunching, and when he looked, there was Sampson happily munching away.

On Delilah’s banana chips.

Sampson isn’t typically THAT food motivated, in fact, he’s usually sacked out in the living room waiting for me to come home and feed him breakfast. So Hubby was surprised, but didn’t think twice about it. He simply put more banana chips down, and he and Sampson went back into the living room, to catch the last of the news.

Then…Hubby heard crunching, again.

Sure enough, Sampson had once again snuck into the kitchen and eaten Delilah’s banana chips.

Rather than risk more banana chips to the black hole of Sampson’s stomach, Hubby put some chips on the stairs, which are behind a gate. He placed them far enough away, so Sampson couldn’t access them. Then he stopped and told me on his way to work so I could help Delilah find them upon our return.

Of course, she blew past them, and I had to help her ‘find’ them. But we got them all.

Meanwhile, the next morning…

The next morning Sampson once again helped himself to banana chips. But this time Hubby was on to him, and he only gave him that one chance.

It’s that old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Now Delilah finds her banana chips on the stairs.