Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Oh Snap.

And now for a behind the scenes ceramic animal related story. While we were working on this…

Broke Dog John Working

… this happened:

Broke Dog Full

Since I’m still not ready to talk (or write) about it in depth, here’s John’s depiction of how the tragedy occurred:

Broke Dog Cartoon

Alas, my favorite giant ceramic dog (snagged from HomeGoods three years ago for just 29 bucks) sadly lost his face. In the words of the world’s most famous blogger, it sucked and then I cried.

Broke Dog Head Shattered

Yes, there’s a candle lit vigil in progress. Goodbye Mr. Ceramic Dog. You were a wonderful pet. Never had to clean up after you once. Until this happened.

Broke Dog Pieces

I might try to glue him back together (although some of the pieces are pretty tiny). Until then I’ll be found shaking, crying, and whispering “why?”

Just kidding, I’ll live.

Psst- To anyone having Feedburner/Google Reader issues with our posts coming through, we think we’ve fixed the issue. But just in case it’s safest to unsibscribe and resubscribe, just to be sure you get pinged whenever we post something new.

Comments

  1. Bethany says

    So sad to hear this, I hate it when things like that happen. I think you should glue it back together and then fill in the gaps/missing areas with wood filler, sand it down and spraypaint the whole thing white!

    Reply

  3. Liz A. says

    I dont know John’s attachment to the dog…is there any way that he wanted the dog to….”meet with an accident?” if you know what I mean? Looks suspicious…blaming gravity is always suspicious to me!!! Lol…RIP big ol’ ceramic dog!!! Sorry for yuor loss

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, I might have suspected something if I hadn’t witnessed “the incident” and seen the immediate guilt and sadness on his face. Poor guy felt awful.

      xoxo,
      s

  4. Z says

    so sad! maybe you already thought of this, but what if you “broke” the rest of the head off and put a small flat square of wood on top of the neck to turn it into a little table/plant stand?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, it’s actually up in the original one. You can see it on the top row in the reveal pics on Friday. We loved it too much not to hang it up. Cracks me up every time.

      xo,
      s

  8. Angie says

    I’m so sorry about your dog. I’ve come to find that especially with raising two rambunctious boys, when something gets broken, it’s always your favorite or irreplacable. They are just things after all…

    Reply

  9. Chrissa says

    So when you Google, “White, big, ceramic dog from Home Goods” you only get photos of a $900 Doberman, and of your former living room :(

    Sorry, Sherry. I put on my cape and tried to be your hero.

    (But dang, with as much as you pimp them, you would think HG or someone will see this and find a way to get you one? I’ma hold out hope for that).

    Reply

  13. Lisa says

    So sorry to hear about your doggie! I had a similar experience recently when my cleaning lady broke a beautiful white ceramic lemon that I’ve had displayed in my kitchen (inspired by your love of ceramic fruit!!). It was shattered into a million pieces, but I was bound and determined to fix it. I glued it back together the best I could, then used spackle to fill in any gaps (and then sanded lightly to smooth everything out). Then I spray-painted the whole thing (white)… and now it looks as good as new. Maybe it would work for you, too?? Good luck!!

    Reply

  14. Carli says

    Didn’t know I had such strong feelings for your ceramic dog until I saw this and gasped out loud…. really?! I think I am too close to your blog.

    Reply

  15. tracie says

    awww sorry your pooch bit the big one! he was a wonderful watchdog too… ;) hope you’re able to fix him/find a replacement. here’s some kleenex for ya!

    Reply

  17. Brandi says

    I completly understand your sense of loss. I had a ceramic giraffe which stood next to my front door holding my dog leashes. One day, Beau got tangled up in him, and he fell over, breaking his neck. It was hard saying goodbye to Geronimo, but I still have his head as a creepy keepsake. RIP, buddy.

    Reply

  19. Marie says

    Love your blog! You mentioned baby safing the house a while ago, and this post made me think back to that. I have just been doing that, including taking away any breakables in the areas that my baby has access to. I feel safer knowing that she won’t break something like this (and start playing with those sharp pieces). The only problem is to find art and decorations that can fill up the empty spaces in those areas. I have a couple of nice-looking toys in the lower shelves, but that’s about how far my creativity goes. If you have any great ideas (which you probably do), would you consider sharing them in a blog post?

    Reply

  20. Susanna says

    Ooooh, the humanity! If you do try to Humpty Dumpty him back together, I highly recommend doing it in a tub of sand. Sounds odd, yes, but the sand will help hold the pieces together as you put them in place and hold them sturdy as the glue sets. I used to work in art conservation and that’s how we worked with broken ceramics (though, admittedly, I never worked with anything from Homegoods at Colonial Williamsburg!).

    Reply

  21. Marla says

    Reminds me of when we tried to take our fancy toilet to our new house. It was sitting in the garage on moving day and I opened the freezer next to it and whammo, the “gourmet” toilet hit the concrete and busted. Lesson learned. Do not take fancy toilets to new house.

    Reply

  23. lareader says

    Oh no, poor doggie!! I love the stick figure action shot of his demise though!

    I just found a similar dog at HomeGoods 3 weeks ago — mine is white, and he’s thinner (a greyhound?) With 2 kids who love to play with him, I’m afraid mine will have a short life too.

    Reply

  28. Vonda Kelly says

    I’m so sorry Sherry! I know that sucks. If I weren’t at a conference table full of others, I probably would’ve cried for you. I always admire that dog in your photos!

    Reply

  29. Erin says

    I saw a VERY similar one in Home Goods two weeks ago and thought of you two! It wasn’t quite as large as your pooch though.

    By the way, my blog’s feedburner feed isn’t updating. Was there a simple fix for whatever issue you were experiencing?

    Hugs!

    Erin

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      John just manually “pinged” it by going directly to feedburner.com. There’s a little footer link in small text that says “ping.” Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  30. Lauren says

    Hi guys!

    I have to admit that ever since I laid eyes on your ceramic pooch, I have been craving one of my own. And crazy timing as it may be, I had to hold myself back from buying the one I just saw at TJ Maxx last week, here in Minneapolis. I’m sure there is another one out there for you too! It wasn’t the exact, white ceramic that your fellow four legged friend once was, but the one I found was a material that I thought would be a great little painting project since it was a matt-type material that would take to spray paint pretty well! “A horse, er- dog, of a different color!” if you will. :)

    I believe the dog stood about the same height and stood proud like your very own campanion.

    Good luck to you, and my sincere condolences on your recent loss. He looked to be a good one, that dog.

    -Lauren

    Reply

  33. Candice says

    I am so sorry about your doggie breaking his face, but I just love the drawing. I have absolutely no artistic talent, so that drawing looks like a masterpiece to me. I love John’s rendition of how the accident happened.

    It’s so sad when something irreplaceable is broken. I hope you find a replacement pronto!

    Reply

  35. Michelle N says

    I feel like I should be on FTD.com looking at sympathy arrangements to send your way. Poor dog lost his face. I’m sure you will be able to find a replacement. He may not be as loyal but he will certainly cheer you up! lol

    Reply

  38. Cale says

    SO sorry! But kiddos to you for not wigging out on John. I, too, like the umbrella stand idea. And if it doesn’t work, no big loss! It was broken anyway!

    Reply

  39. Whitney says

    You’re right… it sucks and you should cry! (Love that you referenced Dooce- one of the other blogs I read religiously.) If I ever see a ceramic dog I am going to send it to you…( I was always jealous of it so maybe I’d keep it for myself…) No I wouldn’t do that to my favorite blogger… I’ll keep my eyes open :) Hope you can fix him!

    Reply

  42. Nikki says

    Aww Sherry, that’s so sad… but I can’t stop singing “Who Broke The Dog’s Snout” in tune to that really really bad song. Yep, you know the one!

    Reply

  44. Meredith says

    I’m not sure if you’re ready to move on yet…. but there’s a skinnier version of your pup with a collar that has a few rhinestones on it at Ross for less than 30. Just saying…. of course, I’m happy to send it your way if you think it will help with the healing process.

    Reply

  45. Gretchen says

    Oh no! I loved your ceramic greyhound! I’d shop for one myself, but I have three of the living variety of greyhound already, and they might not understand. ;)

    Reply

  48. Monica V. says

    I saw a very similar ceramic (or maybe it was more like concrete?) dog at TJ Maxx this weekend, and thought of you guys! So sad…tear!

    Reply

  50. Sarah says

    If you are looking for a replacement they have almost identical digs at pier 1 right now except they are a pretty light blue. Last I checked they were still $70 but I’m sure they will be on sale after Easter

    Reply

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