Hergest, says the Owner, you cannot sit on me. You do not fit.

I need to sit on you, I say. It is how we Bond, I say.

Bonding is of the Mind not the Knees, says the Owner.

Knees help, I say.

Nevertheless I will have to Bond with you on the floor, says the Owner. I am sure we can find some Common Ground on which to Bond.

None of this Ground looks Common to me, I say. Caspar is sitting on his Owner’s Knee, I say.

Caspar weighs five pounds, says the Owner. You weight Thirty five pounds.

In Days of Old, I say, when the Moral Dog was a Puppy, there were many hours of Bonding on the Owner’s knee, I say. I was Bonded under False Pretences.

There were no False Pretences, says the Owner, any Moral Dog would have understood that, with Cheese Consumption at such an Established Level, Size would Eventually be an Issue. When the Moral Dog was a Puppy he fitted on the Owner’s knee.

It is not the Moral Dog’s fault that he is a Little Bigger, I say. The Owner should have made Contingency Plans.

There are no Contingency Plans, says the Owner, that cover the situation for Knees when the Moral Dog becomes the size of a Small Antelope.

I am still Same Dog inside, I say.

Unfortunately, says the Owner, you are not the Same Dog outside. A Larger Dog appears to have Eaten Him. It is a Tragedy.

That is Not Fair, I say. Why do Moral Dogs have to Grow Big when they feel Small?

It is called Growing Into Yourself, says the Owner. It is the Nature of Moral Dogs and Moral Persons that they are not always the Same on the Inside and on the Outside. Life is a Matter of Adjusting the Difference between what you Feel and what you See.

I had not thought of it like that, I say. So one can be a Small Dog on the Inside and a Large Dog on the Outside, I say, and Both are the Same Dog.

Yes, says the Owner, that is Exactly it.

Or, I say, looking at Caspar, a Courageous Superhero on the Inside and a Small Ball of Fluff on the Outside.

Very Easily, says the Owner.

And One could be a Young and Vibrant Owner on the Inside and a Somewhat Worn and Wrinkly one on the Outside?

Indeed, says the Owner in a slightly Squeaky Voice.

Hello, says Caspar the Courageous Superhero from his Owner’s knee. Why are you not on your Owner’s Knee?

We are Bonding on Common Ground, I say. It is Going Well.

Categories: dignity dog

Hergest the Hound

I am a dog of many thoughts.