Why Won't Mommy Let Me Have Fun?

Mommy won't let me have fun any more. It snowed in my neighborhood the other day. It was so white and slippery and beautiful. Lulu, Izzy, and I sat at the door and watched the snow come down. "Don't you just love snow!" said Izzy. LuLu nodded her head and said, "I can't wait for Mommy to take us out in it!"

Mommy must have overheard us because right when LuLu finished talking, Mommy said, "Girls, do you want to go outside?" We all three ran over to Mommy as fast as we could. Izzy had to wait in her crate while LuLu and I went outside. LuLu went first. I sat at the door and watched them having fun. Mommy and LuLu ran up a hill and back down. They ran in circles together and I could see them both laughing while they ran.

I got tired of waiting for my turn to go outside with Mommy. I started to cry a little, but Mommy couldn't hear me so I started barking as loud as I could. That did the trick. Mommy and LuLu came home. "Ethel Frances, I heard you barking your head off. Do you want to go outside?" I wagged my tail as fast as I could. "I see from your tail that your answer is yes. Let's go!"

We walked outside in that beautiful snow and I started to run. I felt Mommy pull my leash. "No, Ethel Frances! Don't run! Heel!" Why couldn't I run? LuLu ran. I didn't understand. I can't talk so I tried to communicate with my eyes, eyebrows, and tail. I drew my eyebrows together, looked up at Mommy with sad eyes, and made my tail stop wagging.

Mommy looked at me and gave me a big hug. "Oh, Ethel Frances! You look so sad. You want to know why I won't let you run, don't you?" I answered by wagging my tail a little. "Your leg isn't healed yet from your surgery. Even though your surgery was six weeks ago, your leg is not all better. If you run, your leg will not heal and you might need surgery again. That would be terrible. So you have to trust me and your doctor. I feel bad that you are sad about not playing in the snow, but I love you so much and I want your leg to get better. When it does, you will be able to run and play again. OK, honey?"

I stood there in the snow, thinking about everything Mommy had said. I looked up at her and smiled. I wagged my tail and leaned against her leg to let her know that I understood and that it was OK. I sure hope my leg gets better before we get snow again.