Pawly meets St. Peter the Poodle at the Pearly Dogbone Gates of Canine Heaven:

St. Peter the Poodle: “Welcome to Canine Heaven, Pawly.”

Pawly: “Whoa! We talk up here? OH MY GAWD I JUST SPOKE!”

St. Peter the Poodle: “Yes, my dear. I like your collar.”

Pawly: “Oh, this? Yeah, if red’s your thing. I prefer to go au naturelle whenever possible.”

St. Peter the Poodle: “Yes, we know. Would you like to check it at the gate, then?”

Pawly: “Is there a charge for collar check? My mom always had the purse…”

St. Peter the Poodle: “No, no. No charge. So, would you like to come inside?”

Pawly: “Well, yes, but you haven’t said the magic words.”

St. Peter the Poodle: “Oh! Very sorry. *ahem* ‘Pawly, in the house?!’ …is that right?”

Pawly: “Yes, thank you. Will there be a bone waiting for me inside?”

St. Peter the Poodle: “Oh, there’s much more than that. We have a grassy field, and there’s a guy named Doug who has volunteered to come play ball with you once a day. Better be careful while you run, though: This orange tabby who calls himself ‘Squeaker’ told me that he plans to jump on you when you least expect it.”

Pawly: “I see… Well, he should remember that I’m not afraid to give ‘im a little toss–”

St. Peter the Poodle: “–but, when you’re done playing ball we have a nice little place for you to rest, complete with air vent, blanket, bones to chew on, and a wool rug for you to roll around on if your back gets itchy.”

Pawly: “Is there anything for me to do if I don’t feel like playing ball?”

St. Peter the Poodle: “My, I almost forgot! There is a pond for you to swim in, and if you’re feeling adventurous you can climb the Shrubby Hill of Empty Diet Mountain Dew Bottles or squeeze into the Cave of Tantalizing Cheese Smells.”

Pawly: “You don’t happen to have any garbage cans, do you?”

St. Peter the Poodle: “No… Why?”

Pawly: “It’s not important–Go on…”

St. Peter the Poodle: “…Yes, yes. So, there are other dogs you might like to meet while you are here. A shepherd mix named Nelcie is very anxious to challenge you to a doggy-paddle contest–”

Pawly: “–ah, I think I’ve heard of her before. Energetic gal, right? Do you think she’d be up for some tug-o-war?”

St. Peter the Poodle: “Well, you never know unless you ask, right?”

Pawly: “Guess so… Hey, one request…”

St. Peter: “Anything you like, Pawly.”

Pawly: “Well, there’s this blue persian named Sam I used to like hanging out with… Is he around?”

St. Peter the Poodle: “Oh, yes. Let’s go find him now…”

Pawly: “Wait. Wait. Not so fast. I’m not going in there unless we’re sure that my family gives their permission. I mean, sure I went a lot of places I wasn’t supposed to back when I was on Earth. But I figured this time it’s a little more serious. I mean, I didn’t hear anyone whistle or anything, but I just want to be sure…”

St. Peter the Poodle: “I understand. Tell you what: If you hear any of them whistle, you can go back anytime you like.”

Pawly: “Really?!”

St. Peter the Poodle: “Absolutely. There is a catch, however.”

Pawly: “I’m listening…”

St. Peter the Poodle: “Good girl. So, when you go back, you can’t show yourself. You can only keep them company by being with them in spirit. And you can’t stay too long, or else Squeaker will eat your dinner. Dinner in Heaven is at 4pm, and you won’t want to miss it.”

Pawly: “That sounds reasonable.”

St. Peter the Poodle: “Okay?”

Pawly: “Yeah, okay.”

St. Peter the Poodle: “Okay, then. Now, let’s go get the kitty…”

Tags: "Goodbye to Pawly" "Pawly's Goodbye" "Family Pets"

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 at 3:35 pm and is filed under family, stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.