“That is not true!” I interrupted. “They do like me at church!”

“Not as much as we do!” both dogs chimed through wide smiles.

“You guys are so silly!” I said. “Now who wants to go WALKIES?!” 

WALKIES is a special word for my pups. Immediately the tails start wagging wildly. They know that it means that we will go outside and walk and sniff and do other business. When I say, “WALKIES,” they become very excited and race towards the door.

I quickly attached their leads, put on my sandals, and opened the door. Peanut and Rupert pulled me out of our camper and trotted down our trail. 

“Peanut,” Rupert whispered as she sniffed the bushes. “Why are you so happy? Don’t you know that when Daddy walks us this early in the morning, it means that he is going to leave us and go to church?”

“I know,” Peanut answered, “but Daddy always comes back.”

After about 30 minutes we arrived back at our camper. “Inside, Inside,” I prompted. I filled their water bowls and topped off their food dishes.

“Mmmm mmmm mmmm mmmm,” Rupert hummed the first line from his Daddy, Daddy song.

“I’ll be back soon,” I tried to comfort Rupert as I looked at my watch. “I must hurry so that I can meet the church van.”

Peanut and Rupert batted their eyes at me to try and convince me to stay home. I patted them both on the head and said, “I love you two, I’ll come home as soon as I can.”

I put on my shoes and zipped up my backpack. These last two actions were a sure sign to Rupert that I was leaving. As I bent over to tie my shoes, he patted me on the shoulder with his paw.

Before I left I wrapped my arms around Peanut and Rupert and gave them one last long hug. Then I walked out of the camper and shut the door. “Slam!” 

“Daddy is gone!” Rupert cried.

“I know,” Peanut said patiently, “just lay your head down and before you know it, Daddy will be home!”

Rupert thought for a few seconds. Then, less than a minute after I had left, Rupert shrieked, “WHAT IS TAKING DADDY SO LONG!”

Peanut sighed and closed her eyes, “You are not going to carry on like this the WHOLE time? Are you?!”

“I know,” Rupert said after thinking for about a minute. “I will do something naughty, and that will make Daddy come in the door and yell at me to stop!”

“I don’t think that is such a very idea,” Peanut warned.

“Well I am going to try anyway,” Rupert snorted, “Daddy has been gone for an entire five minutes!”

With that he jumped off of the bed and ventured into the kitchen to find something to get into. “I have found a loaf of bread!” Rupert called to Peanut.

Peanut did not answer her mischievous brother.

Rupert stretched so that his paws rested on the counter and his feet kept him from sliding. Then he crooned his neck and pulled the bag of bread off the counter with his teeth.

“I have got a loaf of bread,” Rupert said as he watched the door, “and Daddy, if you don’t tell me to stop, I will tear it open and eat all of it!”

He waited, but the door knob did not move.

“If I eat all of this bread, I might get sick and throw up on something you like! Perhaps the remote…”

Still, there was no sign of my return.

Rupert then tore into the bread bag, slowly at first. In a few minutes there were shreds of plastic all over the kitchen and Rupert was swallowing the last crumb of bread.

“I am being very naughty!” Rupert called out hoping that I would hear him and come back.

Then Rupert thought of something else to get into. Rupert extended his powerful legs and sent 35 pounds of Beagle high into the air. “Thud!” Rupert landed and slid along the counter.

“I have done it now!” Rupert said loudly. “You had better come home and order me to GET OFF THE KITCHEN COUNTER!”

Then Rupert watched the door to see if I would come through it. I did not.

“Now I am knocking things off of the counter!” Rupert squealed as he pitched my medicine bottles to the floor.

There was still no movement sign of my return.

Then Rupert spied a new roll of paper towels. “Daddy will certainly come home if I shred paper towels all over the house!”

With that he knocked the roll of paper towels to the floor and began to fiercely shred it.

“Oh Boy! I am in trouble now!” Rupert happily said. “I know Daddy will come and get me now!”

What Rupert did not know was that I was about twelve miles away, at church. 

Rupert spent quite a while demolishing the paper towels. When he was done he said, “Whew! That has tired me out!”

“Then come up here and have a little nap,” Peanut said.

“That sounds really great,” Rupert said as he leapt up onto the bed, “Perhaps I will dream about Daddy!”

Soon Peanut and Rupert were sound asleep and our camper was filled the sound of snoring dogs.

Church was over, and soon I was speeding down the road towards home in the church van. I missed my dogs and was looking forward to seeing them.

I walked up the hill to our camper. As I got closer, I tried not to make any noise, so I could surprise my children. I peered into the window and was able to see Peanut and Rupert each curled up on the bed, sound asleep. I watched them for a while with a big smile. I must have made a slight sound because Rupert’s eyes shot open. He looked around and quickly spied me at the window. In less than a second, Rupert went from a curled up little ball of fur to a rocket flying towards the window. 

“Arrrrooo! Arrroooo!” He bayed.

Then Peanut joined in, “Bark! Bark!”

Before I could open the door, Peanut and Rupert were leaping at it. I poked my head inside and said, “Who wants to go WALKIES!”

===================================

I like to think that I am a good Daddy to my fur-children. I try my best. I do spend lots of time with them. 

Sadly, I do occasionally have to leave them. I go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays. I occasionally go to doctor’s appointments or on shopping trips, and they cannot come with me. Other than that, I am usually with my puppies. 

There is a father who is so much better than I could ever be. He never leaves me by myself. I read about Him in these verses: