Old Dogs Playing Tricks

It has been my observation that people respond to Maltese in one of two ways: either they think they’re adorable and want to cuddle them, or they show disdain and barely tolerate them. My Phoenix daughter and her husband Mike are in the latter group, which surprises me because they have three indoor cats and two huge “real dogs” who (unlike Maltese) shed constantly and smell like dogs. But during her visit with us this summer it became apparent that she had obviously become concerned over how much Rufus has taken over the household in a year. So Y’daddy and I decided that a little light-hearted fun was in order.

Y’daddy went out and bought a birthday card with a picture of a dog that looked much like Rufus on the front. We both wrote endearing notes on the inside about how much he means to us and signed it. Next, we wrote his name and the date of his birthday on the outside and sealed it, and finally, tore it open and left it on a table in the living room. The stage was set.

The next morning we all meandered into the living room and I busied myself at the other end of the room. I heard my Franklin daughter say, “Is this what I think it is?” I turned around and asked innocently, “Where did you find that? I’ve been looking for it to put in Rufus’ scrapbook!” This last was said with my back turned because I was afraid I would lose control. But I turned around to see both daughters staring at each other and the Phoenix one finally said, “Well, I can hardly WAIT to tell Mike about THIS!”

I wish that I could say that we kept them in suspense for a while, but my control was gone, and it was all over.