Ya think that's funny, Clo?!

I hate sharing the guts of this story, but the punchline won't work without it, so bear with me. We have two hounds, Max and Luigi. They are in our back yard and have quite a territory all their own to dominate. They turned out much larger than we had anticiapated or imagined. They are VERY smart dogs and sweet too. Nonetheless, they are HOUNDS, as I said before, and they are also teenagers as dog years go. So, when the wind catches our fence just right and it goes flying on open... it's as the gate speaks to the boys saying, "Go young dogs. Go and be free. Search and destroy. Explore and Master. Seek and Discover... Go and be freeeeee!" So, one cold morning, the wind had whispered to my gate, and the gate then encouraged my dogs. We looked out the window during breakfast only to see the gate flung wide open and not a second thought occurred about whether or not the dogs were still there.

We start yelling for them... breakfast is waiting. They never do come when called for, especially not during an adventure. After ten minutes or so in bare feet in the cold and both dogs trotting farther away with each call of their names, I retire back to the house and suggest we fetch them after eating. A few minutes later, I see Luigi and Max both in single file line prancing back to the house... A strange sight since they always run side by side and never back TO the house unless hours have passed. Then something else catches my eye... something is dangling from Weegie's mouth lifelessly and limp. He looks to be happier than normal. A smile is forming on either side of his mouth around this poor something. Max, behind him, looks ashamed... afraid... What IS that? I gasped. It was a kitten. A sweet, innocent, lifeless kitten. I screamed. Mike went and retrieved the kitten. Smacked Weegie on the nose. The rest of this part of the story is irrelevant and sad, so we'll skip the the punchline. Saydee had been helping us with the kitten. A rough life lesson... Death. She came in to see Chloe waiting for her. She felt the need to take blame for what her dogs had done and deliver the bad news to her younger, oblivious sister.

"Chloe, do you want to hear a really sad story that's not funny about your dog and my dog?," she begins. "Luigi, our dog, found a cutest baby kitten, grabbed it by the neck, and DIED it!

Chloe, loving her big sister so much and the engaging conversation, wriggled with excitement and laughter.

"Ya think that's funny, Clo?!," Saydee yelled with disgust. She looked to me, then her dad in disbelief of such an inappropriate reaction. We both assured her that her sister just loves her voice and cute face. She gradually let down her guard and you could physically see the tension leave her body. For a minute, though... for just a single minute, I think Saydee questioned the morale of her sister. "What a wicked litte person this baby DID turn out to be," I'm sure was the thought consuming her mind.

Love my girls. So cute!