As some of you may know, I was out of town last weekend and left the furkids home while I attended the Colorado Gold Conference in Denver. We had a pet sitter stay at the house with them, hoping that’s all it would take to keep them out of mischief. The cats did very well, same as they always do. They’re easy to care for: Food, water, litterbox cleaning and that’s about it. Catitude aside, all three of them are fairly self-sufficient.
My dog, on the other hand… Well, Kinsey is both bright and spirited. Her behavior can be unpredictable so we never know what to expect. As my husband and I packed for our Colorado trip, she knew something was up. We spied her having heart to heart conversations with our Sammy cat. And sure enough, she made sure we’d know her displeasure at being left behind.
Me: Really, Kinsey? Did you have to?
Kinsey: Holds chin up and blinks. Yes, yes I did.
Me: Shakes head. You know how I feel about tracking mud in the house.
Kinsey: So? You weren’t here to see it.
Me: Obviously.
Kinsey: And the sitter wasn’t always watching me very well.
Me: Don’t blame it all on her.
Kinsey: What’s important is that I had fun.
Me: Breathes in an exasperated breath. Now who do you think has to fill the hole you dug in the yard?
Kinsey: Dad can use the exercise.
Me: Smiles. How did you like your bath afterward?
Kinsey: Hangs head. No comment.
Me: Okay, the mud hole is one thing. The quilt on our bed is quite another.
Kinsey: You know I can’t resist pulling the stuffing out of things.
Me: You have toys for that.
Kinsey: Shrugs. I had to show you I didn’t appreciate you leaving me.
Me: Sighs. It was only for a few days. And you weren’t left alone.
Kinsey: Promise you won’t leave me again.
Me: I can’t promise you that. But if you keep digging holes and gutting my quilts, I promise to put you in a kennel next time.
Kinsey: Wails.
Me: Stop being such a drama queen. If you can prove to me you’ll behave, we’ll get you a sitter again.
Kinsey: Pants. Okay. I’ll behave.
Me: Long pause. Now uncross your paws and say that.
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Karen Duvall is an award-winning author with 4 published novels and 2 novellas. Harlequin Luna published her Knight’s Curse series last year, and her post apocalyptic novella, Sun Storm, was released in Luna’s ‘Til The World Ends anthology in January 2013.
Karen lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and four incredibly spoiled pets. She is currently working on a new contemporary fantasy romance series.
Oh, my. The quilt photo shocked me. It’s been so long since I’ve had a dog in the house that I’d forgotten how much damage they can do when they’re upset with us.
Yep, she can be destructive. It was an old quilt, but still. She tends to like jumping up on a bed and trying to make a nest out of it. We can generally stop her in time, but I’m afraid she got a bit out of control this time. Oh, well. Time to shop for a new quilt.
Karen, I put my living room furniture up to prevent the quilt syndrome. My dog too likes to make a bed of things and he has long claws. I don’t want him shredding my furniture. Of course, we just got a puppy too and now all bets are off. Sigh. Hope you had fun at the conference!
Yeah, i think we’re going to have to replace our carpet, baseboards and living room furniture due to pet damage. Wow, you got a puppy? *cringes* I don’t think I ever want to go through the puppy stage again. Who am I kidding? Kinsey will be 5 in November and she’s STILL acting like a puppy. *headdesk*
Cutest, I’m sorry, mom, ever.
🙂