My cousin, Rita

My cousin, Rita, is a constant source of amusement!  Take the issue of dogs.  For about two years, she kept her son's dog.  Jeremy was living in an apartment and his job kept him away long hours. 


Rita was forever complaining about Stella did this or Stella did that.  Stella ran away numerous times.  She destroyed plants in the yard, She dug holes.  Anyone with half a brain could see the real truth here.  Rita and Kip were attached to that big bundle of energy called Stella, although she would deny it till the end of time.  Stella is a German Shorthaired Pointer.  These dogs need lots of exercise, destructive or otherwise.


Then Jeremy and Emily, who gave Jeremy the dog as a present several years ago, got married and moved into a house.  Stella went to her "new" home.  Right away you could see the withdrawal Rita was going through.  And those of us on facebook missed the endless "Stella Stories" that only Rita could tell!


"You need to get a dog of your own, Rita," I told her over and over.


"NOPE!  I don't need a dog. . . I'm too busy.  I don't want to be tied down."


Yesterday there was this cryptic facebook entry.  It was a picture of the eyes of a dog.  Rita said, "Kip is in trouble now."


I knew what that meant, although Rita left many of us hanging.  What followed were several facebook entries which propriety demands I don't include here.


Last night she texted me a picture of a beagle puppy with the caption, "Look what Rita's got."


"Tell me more!"  I texted back.


Turns out she's had this puppy since Tuesday of last week and she didn't bother to tell anyone.  One of Kip's customers had a dog with a litter of puppies.  She knew all of us who had heard the "I don't want another dog" lectures were going to jump on her. . . AND I DID!!!  Again, I can't tell you here what I told her, but I got the point across!


Now your life is complete, Rita!  You've got a little bundle of joy to keep your life "interesting."