Clever Canine Manipulations

Mysti Girl is so funny, and pretty clever.

Our Doggie Girls like to cuddle with me on the couch during the evening, and it varies who gets the plum seat next to me, usually first-come, first-served. But when the Son’s pup, Chelsea Belle, was staying with us during his deployment, she often got the spot closest to me because she is small enough to sit on the footrest of the recliner without collapsing it.

Chelsea is also a titch toy-crazy. She will show you a toy in her mouth while waggling her rear end all over the place for hours. And Mama Mysti took note of that.

Around Christmas, when Mysti wanted to sit next to me but found Chelsea already there, that cagey Mama would go in search of a toy and bring it to me. She would then start playing “tug” with me, putting only her front paws on the couch, and pulling the toy perilously close to Chelsea who, of course, couldn’t stand not having the toy all to herself. Then Mysti would yank the toy from me and “toss” it across the room. Chelsea, of course, would spring into action and triumphantly leap down to grab the toy before anybody else could . . . while Mysti hopped up on the couch and helped her whole self to my lap.

This is what Mysti looks like when she’s feeling close enough to me:

Yap’s almost close enough:

They’re both pretty darn close:

Last night, Yappy had claimed my lap and Mysti was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, I heard toenails clicking across the floor and here came Mama Mysti, trotting into the living room, carrying — you guessed it — Yap’s favorite toy.  A few minutes later, Mysti was in my lap, and farther down the couch was this:

Oh, that clever Mama.  Sneaky, too.  Heh.