A Tale of Two Tails
Finding Friendship in Differences
One warm and sunny morning, Harley, a scruffy white terrier opens her eyes and sees the bright world in front of her. Harley is a white schnauzer-terrier with wiry, out-of-control hair. She stretched her paws and walked past her brother, Cooper, who was already up, treating the bedroom like a jungle gym.
Cooper was a brown dog with white splotches in his fur who was always full of energy and could not sit still. His day was made for play and eating. Cooper rushed out of the bedroom to gobble down his breakfast. His bowl full of kibble smelled delicious. It had a smell of chicken with a little bit of smokiness, like bacon. The kibble tasted even better. Cooper chomped it all down in no time as if he hadn’t eaten in days.
Harley was still yawning when Cooper ran back into the bedroom with a belly full of yummy kibble. “Are you gonna eat, Harley?” asked Cooper.
Harley just stared at him and walked to her food dish to begin eating breakfast. Her kibble was just as delicious, but she ate it slowly, savoring each bite to its full potential while taking sips of water in between to help pace herself.
“What do you wanna do today?!” asked Cooper, in a tizzy.
“I’m eating,” said Harley sternly.
“But what about after that?!” yapped Cooper
“Jumping on that couch,” said Harley as she gestured her head towards the living room couch.
“Aww, that’s boring! Let’s play after!” said Cooper while bouncing around. He bounded across the room, his paws skittering on the wooden floor as he waved his tail at Harley furiously.
Harley ignored Cooper and finished up her breakfast then ran towards the living room couch and jumped into her “comfy corner” where she promptly laid her head down.
The comfy corner was directly in the sunlight beaming from the nearby window making a toasty warm spot. The sun tickled the couch cushion that was lying on its side, making it into the perfect dog bed. Nearby was a bunch of blankets, rolled up into the perfect pillow, allowing Harley to melt into the spot.
Cooper brought a ball, some toys, and a rope to Harley to try and see if any of these would entice Harley to play, but she was not moving from her spot. Cooper began jumping around and barking, but Harley never even looked up at Cooper. He tilted his head and figured if he couldn’t get Harley to play, he would lay down with her. He jumped up on the couch and gave Harley a fright.
“Bark! Bark!” yelled Harley as she jumped up.
“Sorry,” said Cooper. “You looked so comfortable and I thought I would join you.”
“Fine,” said Harley with a grumpy look. “Just don’t bother me anymore.”
Cooper lay next to Harley and looked at her. Her eyes were closed, but she couldn’t be sleeping. She just got up. How could she be sleeping again when there was so much to do, like playing and running?
Harley opened one eye and gave Cooper a look. Was he actually lying down with her? She couldn’t believe that he could enjoy becoming a good puppy puddle on the couch. Harley started to feel a tinge of guilt that she just ignored Cooper while he wanted to spend time with her, but she also was really enjoying her spot.
She finally gave up with a sigh. “Cooper, do you want to play with me?” Cooper’s tail slowly started wagging until his feelings got too big and he jumped up. “Really? REALLY?” he pleads.
“Sure, but just for a few minutes.”
Harley grabs the rope toy and flips it around in front of Cooper. He snatches the other end of the rope and begins pulling. Harley pulls back with a growl. This became a clash of titans as the two pups thrashed, and pulled the rope in their respective directions, neither one wanting to give in.
Cooper knocked some books off the coffee table after getting a bit too into the tug-of-war, but he ignored it. Their human would clean that up.
Harley’s teeth clenched tightly on the rope with her paws bracing against the rug under her. Cooper growled at her playfully while throwing his head around like a shark who captured his prey, his eyes twinkled with determination.
After what felt like an epic battle of a lifetime, Harley gave up. She was too tired and was out of practice. Cooper just had too much energy for her. She looked up at the clock and surprisingly, it had already been 20 minutes! She lost track of time since she was having so much fun.
“Wow, Cooper, I forgot how much fun playtime is.” Cooper gave a tail wag at Harley. “But laying on the couch is really fun and relaxing too. I can see why you like to do it all day. I think I need to take a nap.”
Cooper jumped back up on the couch to lie down. Harley caught her breath but didn’t want to go back to the couch just yet. She found a ball and started to throw it around and play fetch by herself. Harley felt a burst of energy that she hadn’t had since she was a puppy. Meanwhile, Cooper wagged his tail lazily while he basked in the rare moment of tranquility.
Both dogs had now switched roles! And they each felt like they understood the other a little bit better. Harley realized how much a good play session helps her feel young and invigorated. Cooper thought about how nice it was to slow down and appreciate this quiet moment.
Harley looked up at Cooper and decided that now she would be the one to join him on the couch. She jumped up and laid down next to Cooper, dropping the ball she was playing with right between the two of them as they drifted off into a nice nap, both feeling happy and close.
