My spoiled kids

Dogs,you may not realize, can and do know the time of day. They are especially diligent about meal and/or treat times. Walk times too, but in our household, these times vary more than meal or treat times.

I recall mentioning some time back (on Facebook, I believe) that someone had spoiled my Lily (that's the dog, not the huge, overgrown flowers in my front yard). No one has stepped forward to claim responsibility for Lily's spoiling, but I am living with the consequences. The sweet faced, innocent looking Lily will at various times of the day sit at my feet and give out a little yelp. I glance down and there she is, simply waiting to be waited upon.

These helpful reminder yelps, I have noted, come at certain times of day. There is the morning yelp to remind me that I should be fixing breakfast where she and, of course, the rest of the pack, are expecting little bits of cheese as a bribe to let me eat my breakfast in relative peace.

Mid morning finds my little reminder dog giving me a small yelp to to say it's time to put on my shoes and take her for a walk. Later in the afternoon, she is simply available, as her Uncle Bert assumes the responsibility to bark gently, but repeatedly, to let me know he's ready for his evening meal. Occasionally, I glance up from my reading to see the whole pack lined up in a half circle in front of me waiting in anticipation. These events are always reminders to me that I may have forgotten one of their regular treat events. Sigh!

The moral of this story is: Once spoiled always spoiled, and there's no peace until the spoiled ones get their way. I wonder if my parents ever had that feeling about me, but they did tell me I was worth it. I guess I feel pretty much the same way about my pack of "kids".