The Favorite

A roar erupted from the hall. "I'm going to KILL that dog!"

A small furry figure suddenly dashed into my room and ran under the bed.

My 17-year old son came storming in, his older sister close behind. "WHERE IS SHE?"

I looked up innocently from my computer chair. "I have no idea. What's wrong?"

"She POOPED in my room!" Brian yelled, his face turning an unhealthy shade of red.

"She did NOT!" Amber jumped in defensively. "You don't know that! You didn't see her do it."

Brian looked increduously at his sister. "Who else would it have been?"

Amber crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. "Maybe it was me."

Brian stared at her. "You pooped in my room?"

"Maybe. Or maybe it was one of the cats. Or Mom."

Now there was a thought.

A tiny snout poked out from under the dust ruffle, and I casually nudged it back under the bed.

I tried a diplomatic approach. "Brian, did you actually see Reyna poop in your room?"

"NO I didn't actually see her, but --"

"So," I continued smoothly, "basically what we've established here is that we have a stealth pooper."

"Mom!! You know that dog hates me."

"She doesn't hate you."

A little growl came from under the bed, and my son looked around wildly.

"She doesn't poop in anyone else's room. You probably did something to her!" Amber looked at her brother accusingly. "THAT's why she doesn't like you!"

"I DID NOT!" Brian yelled. "She just hates me!"

"Just calm down," I said soothingly. "The point it is you just don't know for sure. Like your sister said, it could have been anybody--Tiggy, for example"

Startled, the cat looked up from where she was cleaning herself in the corner.

Tiggy is my husband's Bengal Tiger cat. She was in heat and had spent the past three nights yowling under our bed. I had no compunction whatsoever about framing this one on her. Besides, Brian would never be able to catch her anyway.

My son shot me a look. "It wasn't Tiggy. She's been in here all day."

Oh well. It had been worth a try.

"I tell you what," I offered. "I promise that if you catch Reyna in the act, I'll punish her, okay? But, for right now, let's just clean up the poop and see if it happens again."

Brian gave up in complete frustration. His shoulders slumped forward as he looked from his sister to me. "She's going to do it again. You know she will," he muttered.

I grabbed a plastic bag and removed the offending pellets from my son's room. A little disinfectant and some apple cinnamon spray foam later, and the room smelled fresh.

"See?" I said brightly. "Good as new."

Amber sniffed. "Actually it smells better than Brian's room usually does."

"Shut UP!" My son shoved his sister out the door, closing it behind her. "And keep that stupid dog out of here."

I walked back into my room. Reyna was sitting in my computer chair waiting for me. She cocked her head at me.

"I just saved your butt, you know." I told her.

Reyna wagged her tail and rolled over for me to pet her stomach.

She'd always known she was my favorite.

Reyna is half teacup poodle and half chihuahua, and so unusual looking that people frequently don't know WHAT sort of animal she is. Only about seven inches tall and four pounds soaking wet, she's even smaller than our cats. And yes, she is full grown.

More Reyna pictures will be posted to my photo album soon!