Alex looks innocent enough.

Definitely not the face of a dog you would expect to have a record. After all, he’s a Shih Tzu — adorable, petite, cuddly.

That’s what Christy Huggins thought too when she bought those new leather loafers, the brown ones that were so cute. Alex had never bothered her shoes before, but something about this pair got to him.

So, he chewed the backs completely out.

Christy really liked those shoes — a lot — so she did what any red-blooded American shoe-lover would do. She bought another pair and was shocked to find the second pair destroyed.

This was not only puzzling, it was getting expensive, so Christy gave up and learned to live without those brown leather loafers. And Alex has approved of all her subsequent choices in footwear.

Christy’s 17-month-old twin boys keep Alex and his canine siblings, Peanut and Bailey, pretty busy, especially after mealtime.

Christy laughs and says, “They are the clean-up crew. Whatever is dropped or thrown from the high chairs gets whisked away quicker than any broom can do.”

Nowadays, the only things Alex wants to slay are his stuffed dragons. He grabs one of them by the tail and shakes it violently until it flings across the room.

Christy and her husband breathe a sigh of relief, pleased that Alex seems to have rehabilitated.

But they still keep a close watch on their shoes, especially the brown leather ones.

Ann Malone is a pet photographer and can't remember a time she did not have pets in her life. Today she has three dogs, three cats and one parrot. She can be reached at annmh@live.com.