Children!

Madison is sitting on my lap crying. It's a pathetic little whimper. An "I'm-so-hard-done-by" sigh whimper. She lays her head across my arm and looks at me with dejection. Her eyes plead for her mommy to fix this terrible injustice. But I sit by and let her suffer. I'm heartless that way.

She is coveting Montel's chew bone. She is mourning that it is not hers.

You would think Montel is an innocent party in this. But, you would be wrong. Montel is taunting her. He is taunting her with the fact that he has the bone and she does not.

He's not even chewing it. He has the bone resting gently on the blanket in front of him. Every time Maddy whines, he licks the bone. He then moves the bone a bit on the blanket and looks at her. It's killing her. And he knows it. He's an evil little bugger.

Some times, when the whining gets too much, I will steal the bone from him and give it to Maddy. I know, this is no way to parent, but it is what keeps me from committing multiple canine-icide. Today, I just decided to let them fight it out.

Maddy did what she always does to distract Montel. She pretended she needed to go out. Montel is a crafty little guy, but he's not too smart, so he fell for it like he always does. As I headed to let them out, I saw how things turned out. As both dog's heads were turned, Vicki jumped up on the couch and took the bone.

Serves them both right.