Unconditional Love

I think this conversation took place a little over a week ago .... 

 “Grrrrr, it’s my toy!”

“Rrrrrr, it’s my toy!”

“Girls, would you please stop!  Why do you always fight over the blue dog toy?  It’s a squeaky toy!  We have at least 20 squeaky toys, there’s a red dog, a yellow dog, a yellow duck, a blue snake, why can’t one of you just play with one of those toys?”

“Because I want the blue dog,” Little Bit said.

“I want the blue dog,” Daisy said.

Snickers let out a big sigh, “Girls.  Puppies.  What am I going to do?  Girls, we need to talk, stop with the toy and get over here.”

Snickers gently shifted in his dog bed as Little Bit and Daisy dropped the toy they were fighting over and bounced over to see what Snickers wanted to talk about.  While Snickers was old and didn’t ask for much, the girls still respected him for his length of service to the McCullough family.

“Girls, it’s almost time, I’m going to be leaving soon.  You two will have to take over all of the pet responsibilities for the family.”

“Bu-bu-but Snickers, where are you going?” Little Bit nervously asked.

“Little Bit, you remember when Minnie left a few years ago.  It’s my time now, I need to move on.”

“Who’s Minnie?  And where do dogs go?” Daisy asked innocently.

“Minnie was the Man owner’s Princess before I came along,” Little Bit said smugly.

Snickers replied, “All dogs go to Heaven of course.  There was a great movie about this many years ago, you guys are too young to know about it, but it’s true, all dogs go to Heaven.  We provide great service here on Earth, we serve our families, we have very short lives, our reward is getting to go to Heaven and wait for our families to come join us.  Now, I have some instructions for you, you girls have to take over the duties now.”

Little Bit said, “What do you mean Snickers?  What duties?  We do a good job of taking care of the family, don’t we?”

Snickers said, “You do, but you have to take over my duties too.  Little Bit, you have done a great job taking care of Patrick, and you have done a good job taking over as the Princess for the Man  owner.  Daisy’s still a puppy, she needs to grow up and take on some more responsibility. “  Snickers glanced over at Daisy, and sighed, “The first thing is she needs is to get over her puppy ADD and pay attention.  Daisy!”

“What?  Did you say something Snickers?  There are squirrels out there, I need to chase them!”

“Daisy!  Pay attention!  I have some things to say,” Snickers said grumpily.

“Yeah, Daisy, pay attention,” Little Bit chimed in.

“OK, first thing, you guys have to look after the Lady owner, she’s the most important one in the family, and she’s really going to miss me.  You two have to take care of her.” 

“Second, you two have to make sure you entertain Kelly and Clayton’s dogs anytime they come over.”

Daisy shrieked, “Nooooo!  I won’t do it!  Those two are spoiled brats.  And they never stop!  Do either of them ever sleep?  They’re constantly going, and going, and going.  Even I get worn out.”

Little Bit chimed in, “Snickers, do we really have to be nice to them?  They are pretty high maintenance, and Kelly really spoils them.”

Snickers started laughing, “Listen to you two!  Little Bit, I don’t think I’ve ever met a dog more spoiled than you.  Princess, huh.  And Daisy, seriously, Franklin and Rosie are no worse than you.  Ladies, they are still puppies, puppies have lots of energy.  Just like YOU, Daisy.  I’ve put up with it for the last year, and I’m old, the least the two of you can do is put up with them and be nice.”

Snickers continued, “Ladies, what’s a dog’s motto, what’s our commitment?”

Little Bit and Daisy both sighed, “Unconditional love.”

Snickers went on, “That’s right.”

“But Snickers, Franklin and Rosie are dogs, we don’t owe them unconditional love,” whined Little Bit.

“Little Bit!  How nice has Kelly been to you?  She’s treated you like a Princess as much as our Man Owner has.  Clayton has treated you really well too, and think about how much Minnie loved Kelly and Clayton.  How do you think Minnie would feel if she knew you were treating Kelly and Clayton’s puppies badly? Remember Little Bit, unconditional love means you treat Kelly and Clayton’s puppies with the same love Kelly and Clayton give you” Snickers said.

“You’re right Snickers, I’m sorry,” Little Bit sighed.

“Daisy?  What about you?” Snickers asked.

“What?  Did you say something Snickers?” Daisy asked, as she still scoured the yard for squirrels.

“I give up,” Snickers murmured.

“Snickers, will that Barkley ever be coming back here?  This doesn’t apply to him does it?” Little Bit asked.

“Little Bit, seriously, he was barely born when he was here.  He was really a puppy.  I’m sure he’s much better now.  Besides, I’m the one who had to put up with all of his hyperactivity.  You just ran and hid.”

“He was scary Snickers!  He even bit the Man owner!” Little Bit shrieked.

“Again, Little Bit.  Puppy.  Very young puppy.  I’m sure he’s grown up by now.”

“Is there anything else we need to do Snickers?” Little Bit asked.

“Well, if little kids come over, you need to let them poke and prod you and not get mad or run and hide.  And if anyone wants to dress you up with sweaters or costumes, you need to let them,” Snickers said.

“NOOOOOOOOOO!” Little Bit screamed.  “Kelly used to make me wear those stupid sweaters and costumes.  I couldn’t move!  I’ll let little kids pull my tail and pull my ears, but I will not wear any of those stupid outfits anymore!”

Snickers started laughing, “OK, maybe I’ve gone too far.”

Daisy finally broke from watching the squirrels run through the yard, and came bouncing in the room.  “Wait, wait!  Maybe Kelly can put me in a little dress, and I can do the Daisy dance and get on television!”

“Always has to be the center of attention,” Little Bit murmured while rolling her eyes.

“Hey Snickers, I know our commitment is unconditional love, but doesn’t it bother you sometimes how our Man owner treats you?” Daisy asked.

“What do you mean Daisy?” Snickers asked.

“Well, he calls you Dumb Ass, and he calls you Big Fat Fella, and he yells at you a lot, doesn’t it bother you?” Daisy asked.

Snickers just smiled, “Our Man owner loves me, more than you can imagine.  He loves both of you too, more than you can imagine.  We are put here to teach our families how to truly love.  For some of our families, it takes a little more time, but eventually, they figure out what unconditional love means.  Our Lady owner figured it out a long time ago.  It took our Man owner a little longer, but he figured it out.  Our Man owner gets up in the middle of the night and lets me out to roam the yard and doesn’t complain like he used to.  He gives me whatever treats I want, and never complains.  He listens to me bark and howl and doesn’t yell anymore.  It took a while, but he figured it out.  He learned unconditional love.”

“He always loved me,” Little Bit whispered under her breath.

“Yeah, yeah, I know Little Bit, but you’re the Princess,” Snickers said with a smile.  “Daisy is too, I know, not like you Little Bit, but she is too.  Still, I know our Man owner loves me.  Maybe not quite like the Lady owner, but he still loves me.  And that’s why we’re here, we teach them unconditional love.  Some learn it slower than others, but eventually, they all learn it.”

Little Bit and Daisy looked very sad, and finally Little Bit asked, “Is there anything else Snickers?”

“Yeah, make sure you to tell Delilah, Charlotte, Tux and Mieka that I said goodbye.  Bark at them for me.  I told Franklin and Rosie goodbye last weekend, so they already know, but they’re puppies, they didn’t quite understand, you’ll have to explain it to them Little Bit.  And I’m going to miss both of you.  For girls, and puppies, you’re not so bad.”

Snickers rolled over and started nodding off to sleep.  Daisy, of course, darted out the door, chasing whatever squirrel was silly enough to be on the ground.  Little Bit stood there quietly, watching Snickers, and trying to figure out how she was going to take over the duties as the head of the McCullough dog family.  It was a big job for such a little dog.  I’m sure she will be up to it.