So Mom was away on a business trip all week.  She gets home late Friday night and takes off again on Saturday afternoon.  Now this is pretty weird because Mom never goes anywhere on the weekend without Dad, so Larkin and I are thinking something’s a little wrong.

What an understatement that was.  Something was a lot wrong!  Mom shows up in the wee hours Monday morning.  Larkin and I go bounding out to the garage to say hello because we’ve barely seen her all week… and wait… what’s that in her hand?  Looks like a leash…. a new leash… one I’ve never seen before.

I stopped dead in my tracks as my eyes travel from one end to the other — Holy Dog Biscuit!  What is that thing and why is it in my garage?  And why is Mom grinning like she’s really proud of herself?

Approach very carefully… sniff, sniff, sniff… Yowzah!  You should have heard the growl from that thing.  Larkin was two years old before he could do a bass drone like that.  Quick, scurry into the hallway… regain my composure… let’s try this again with that alpha-female confidence I know I have lurking in me somewhere.  Nope, same thing.  Geez, Mom — I’m way too old for this.

Everything’s a little tense, but we all manage to make it to the family room — Larkin and I just staring because we can’t believe our eyes. A few minutes later, here comes Dad with my old crate. In you go, baby Leonberger. Ha! Serves you right for not greeting the long-standing tenants with more respect.  Hey!  Wait a minute… that’s my ball!  No, it doesn’t matter that I never liked it and wouldn’t play with it! If you’d told me eight years ago I’d be giving it to Scruffy here, I would have been more careful.

What’d you say? He’s my WHAT?!?! Aw geez… turns out we’re related. My sister Kelly is the little mutt’s grandmother. Yeah, yeah, I hear ya.  I’ll go to bed, but I am not going to sleep. No siree! Gotta come up with a strategy to teach the little guy who’s boss around here, great-nephew or not!