Messages

A few days ago I went to walk Sambo in the evening and in the middle of the walk my neighbour and her two daughters, Tina (7) and Teja (5) came running after me and joined us. The little ones wanted Sambo to run with them by all means, which he actually did every now and then out of the goodness of his heart, but most of the time he didn't let himself be interrupted while doing his evening errands such as sniffing, marking and having his doggy fun. So Tina (frustrated because of Sambo's lack of interest in running around with them) aksed why Sambo sniffs so much and then pees on the spot he sniffed. I told her that's because when a dog pees he leaves a message behind him so that other dogs can read it and find out different things, like watching TV or reading the newspaper. And all was quiet for a few minutes. But then again…

T: Urškaaaa…

U: Yes?

T: Does EVERY pee has a message?

U: Yes, every pee.

T: … (thinking)

And what does the message say?

U: Look, Sambo just peed now and his message says: I'm Sambo, a magnificent 8-year-old boy, it's my second walk today, I'm a happy and healthy dog and I live nearby.

T: Aha…

And we keep walking. Tina was being unusually quiet, obviously thinking about the message in a pee sutff. Meanwhile, we were getting very near our houses as we were on the last metres of the field before we would cross the road and enter our street. At that moment Tina yells to her mom that she has to pee urgently and that there's no way she can make it home. We start convincing her that she can pee right there, that it is almost dark and no one will see her. So Tina goes a few metres away, does her business and runs after us. All was quiet for a few metres and then…

T: Urškaaaaa…

U: Yes?

T: Is there a message in my pee too?

U: Yes, of course. At least for the dogs.

T: And what does it say?

Just as I'm thinking what to reply, Teja, who has remained uninvolved so far, turns to us and says: 'That you couldn't hold it until we got home.'