Tipsy

The three sisters were always very happy when their Grandfather came to stay with the family for a while. They were very fond of everything with fur their father would say. And they knew how to plead, so it was impossible for the father to deny the family a cat. He was pleased with this cat because it spent most of its time outdoors, even at night. So there was no more needed than some cat food to keep the animal happy.

The Grandfather would add some spice to the situation. Not only was he a very nice and happy person, but what made it even more fun was that he would take his little dog along. Grandfather really spoiled that dog, gave it a part of everything he ate and gave it a peaceful home. Grandfather was already 90 years old and took life as it came. He had a nice and easy life after long years of working hard. He had walked enough in his life, as he said and so walked the dog only once a day. He could tell a lot of stories from the good or bad old days and even the most horrible things sounded very funny when he told about them. So it was not so unexpected that he named the dog Tipsy.

Because of the good life Tipsy was quite fat. He was a little dog, impossible to say which breed, but he had really short legs and his belly would almost scrape on the floor when walking. Tipsy was not altogether happy in the house. The big cat would show up in unexpected places and made him jump up from fear. He would walk under a chair and the cat would tip him on the back and almost scare him to death. So Tipsy was always happy when the girls took him out for a walk. During the first walks he would get dog tired halfway so the girls had to carry him home. But he would get used to the routine and would even slim down a bit.

Grandfather often expressed his fondness for Tipsy. The dog was quite important to him, even while he had a big family that he saw frequently. He lived on the farm of his youngest son and had over there his own little apartment, even cooked his own dinner. But Grandfather was worried about what would become of Tipsy after he himself would be taken by the great Boss. You never knew when that time was due. After hearing this a few times the father promised Grandfather that he would take care of the dog and see to it that it would have a nice remainder for the rest of his life. That reassured Grandfather and made the three sisters very happy.

Half a year later Grandfather passed away in his sleep. Everybody in the family was sad, but they were happy that they all had been able to give Grandfather a nice old age. The girls asked the father when he was going to get Tipsy and bring him over. But the father told the children that Tipsy would be better off on the farm. Lots of room for him over there and he was used to the life over there. And they had to consider the cat too. The girls stopped asking because the father sounded very determined.

Weeks later the father made a telephone call to his younger brother. When he asked about Tipsy he was told that they had to bring Tipsy to the animal shelter. The busy life on the farm made it impossible for the brother and his wife to take care of the dog. After a few weeks in the shelter they decided to let him die, so he was given injections.

After hearing all this the three sisters gave the father a silent treatment for days. The name Tipsy was never mentioned again.

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