PUPPY WEARING SWEATER

Having a bad day? Just look at this puppy wearing a sweater!

IN MEMORIAM

Saturday will be the one year anniversary of the day we lost our dog, Spooky (a.k.a. Puppy) to cancer. I don't know whether or not heaven exists, but if it does, I've always pictured the conversation between God and Puppy going something like this ...

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

GOD is dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. He -- or She -- is putting away groceries, washing dishes, and performing miscellaneous kitchen-type tasks. PUPPY is watching intently.

PUPPY: Where am I?
GOD: You are in heaven.

PUPPY: Why am I here?
GOD: You died.

PUPPY: I was sick.
GOD: You were very sick.

PUPPY: Will I go back?
GOD: No, I'm sorry.

PUPPY: What will I do?
GOD: You will stay here with me, and I will take care of you.

PUPPY: What about my people?
GOD: They will think about you always.

PUPPY: I will miss them.
GOD: They will miss you ... more than you know.

PUPPY: They loved me.
GOD: Very much.

PUPPY: Will you run with me?
GOD: Every day.

PUPPY: Will I get Greenies?
GOD: As many as you want.

PUPPY: Okay, I guess I'll stay then.
GOD: (smiling) I'm glad.

We miss you, buddy.

I DON'T LIKE GUNS, BUT...

So, I was enjoying my morning coffee the other day, when one of my right wing co-workers sent me this link about an incident in Colorado. He then smugly said something to this effect:

See what your liberal friends are doing.

Basically, the article is about a guy who shot a mountain lion because it had the man's dog in its mouth. The story then goes on to say that some wildlife advocates are irate. One such crazy wildlife advocate named Wendy (hmmm) was quoted as saying the following:

I think the state should throw the book at him.

My co-worker, of course, thought that I would come to the defense of the mountain lion. But I'm a dog owner, and I have no problem saying that I would do anything to protect my animal. Thus, it was with much pleasure that I shot back:

Good for him. I would have done the same thing. See, all us liberals don't think alike.

Case closed, right? Well, no ... later that day I had lunch with a couple left leaning buddies of mine, and we discussed the issue. But to my dismay and horror, they both -- without so much as blinking -- said that they would probably have obeyed the law and let the mountain lion drag off Rover.

What!? I almost fell off my chair and spit out my sandwich. So, I had to spend the next hour explaining to them what dogs have given to us over the years, that (even in nature) you protect your own, that some laws are worth breaking, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, they eventually conceded that the mountain lion should go, but I suspect they were just trying to shut me up.

To me, this was an easy call. But it seems that maybe I'm in the minority. So, who should survive ... Rover or the mountain lion?