The true meaning of unconditional love

Well that simply has to be a dog right?

Yeah yeah, I know lots of folk like cats, but really they are just slaves to a four legged native fauna killer that thinks of itself as their master.

Dogs on the other hand, all they want to do is please their master. Yep sure do love my four legged girls. So much so my kids made the comment in the past "anyone would think you love your dogs more than you do us"

Hmmm let's stack it up
They eat whatever I put in front of them
When I ask them to do something, they do, no answering back, no face pulling and not a single "whatever!" to be heard
No matter how crappy their day has been, they are always so excited and happy to see me

Hmmm you can see how this was a tough one to answer as the maternal matriach of the clan.

I have 2 four legged girls, today though will be about the newer of "the girls", Bella. Well we called her Bella (Italian for beautiful of course!) but she goes by many names; princess Bella, mummy's beautiful princess, princess or sometimes prancer.

And a prancer she is! I had all but forgotten of that cartoon of my youth where Pepe La Pew continues to seek "his amore" in the form of a totally terrorised feline, who no matter how hard she tries can not escape his love potion! When Bella plays at home and is chasing her ball or her other doggy play mate, she reverts to Pepe La Pew in an instant. You know what I mean though? That bounce, bounce, bounce on 4 legs that he used to do, especially when in pursuit of the "cat of his dreams", my Bella she prances just like that!

Oh and Princess, well she does think of herself and being quite special. Other dogs sleep on that bit of cement or pavers they find in the sunshine. Not Princess Bella, she is no mere dog! Oh no, the ground is no place for a princess - the really nice chairs of the outdoor setting on the otherhand, a majestic throne for a princess no less! Of course since she is supposed to be here to look after the house, if she has to see what might be going on down on the streets around us, she can always use the table to rest her chin on while she looks around!

One of my favourite times is knowing that my kids are about to come downstairs in the morning. No I can not see them or hear them from the kitchen. What I do hear is a slow "doof, doof, doof" sound, then it gets a little faster, then a little faster, until of course lying there just doing that is impossible. No!!!! Wagging my tail and hitting the floor is not enough, I'm about to burst with excitement, I simply have to jump to my feet and race to the bottom of the stairs to meet my 2 favourite household members. The two that will fawn all over me, maybe even crawl around on the floor and retrieve my most precious of possessions, the overchewed, split in the middle tennis ball, from its resting place under the couch. With a cute little tail wag, a whine and nose stuck under the chair, I can lure them right there with me in search of treasure.

On other occasions Bella resembles an articulated bus....no not because she has a butt the size of the back end of a bus, but because she folds in the middle just like that! When she is excited to see us, she wags her tail and bends in the middle regularly smacking herself in the head with her tail - not a problem, nothing is too much to show her family how much she loves them. And if that doesn't convince them she brings out the voice, the little noises that aren't quite barks but just come out in her attempt to greet them when they arrive home.

Or while I sit here typing this post about her, she has come into the study and curled up in a ball on the floor. Not seeing my attention, jumping up or causing a fuss, just coming in to be with me here in the study.......

yep that is most assuredly unconditional love ....oh and for my other four legged girl the unconditional love has to work both ways....different is one word that comes to mind to describe her - next blog post will be the story of Xena...yeah named after Xena Warrior Princess - sad but true!