The Throw Rug Who Lived

Over the past week, I've been staying with some family friends since my family has been away.

The whole experience has been really great, honestly, and just a whole lot of fun. Each morning, however, before work I go stop by my house to grab some things and say hello to Otis and Lola.

Lola, as she is prone to do, feigns indifference from the couch but wags her tail steadily, quite happy to see me. Otis goes through the motions of grabbing whichever toy is closest and coming up towards the gate for me to play with him.

However, Otis has now added a new part to his routine. Each time I walk in, Otis brings me a toy, we play for a few minutes, then he starts whining. It's not a normal "please-give-me-the-treat-thanks" whine, but rather a shrill "someone-just-killed-my-firstborn-in-front-of-me-and-I-also-still-want-that-goddamn-treat-thanks" whine. At first I thought this whine was merely because Otis realized that no one else in the family had come home with me, but I've been starting to realize that perhaps this whine could be something more.

Perhaps... Otis has realized that I've been cheating on him.

You see, as I learned rather quickly, the intriguing throw rug that our family friends seem to often have in different places around their house is actually a dog. A cute and energetic dog at that. A dog that can apparently jump 5 times it's own height to reach my bed in the morning to wake me up.

Their dog, Maddie, is completely adorable. She's managed to actually be the first dog I've seen who knows how to play fetch, which turns out is rather different than Otis's favorite game of "You throw the ball, and once I get it I'll never let you have it again". In fact, she plays fetch 24/7, even long after you yourself have tired of it.

Though I've grown to love Maddie greatly, I've become rather jealous of her way of life, as her biggest concern, at all times, seems to be "Where's the ball?". Still, perhaps we can all learn something from Maddie.

...

Or, considering I can hide the ball behind my back and have her run around the whole house looking for it, perhaps we can't.

(Note: I'll add some pictures of Maddie and Otis's broken heart tomorrow)