Then Jonah's mother walked into the room. "Well, don't you two look comfy," she exclaimed.

"Yeah, but it makes me feel a little sorry for Peppermint," Jonah replied.

"Why is that?" his mother asked.

"Well, Peppermint is WAY too big to be a lap dog and just look at her; doesn't she look sad? I bet she's thinkin: 'I wish I were a lap dog!"

"Gee Honey, I never thought about that before! Maybe you're right, but there's nothing we can do about it," his mother replied.

Jonah wondered about his big dog Peppermint the rest of that Saturday afternoon. 'Could she really be jealous of Trixie?' he pondered the question until his head hurt. 'I just have to find out,' he thought, as he fell asleep that night. Then he began dreaming about his dogs. Trixie ran and jumped playfully, while Peppermint watched from her bed. After a few minutes of staring, she turned her head and sighed. Then Jonah suddenly woke up and rubbed his eyes. 'Oh no,' he thought, 'Peppermint is jealous of everything Trixie can do!'

That Monday in school, the teacher showed a film strip about the animal world. Afterward she asked the class if anyone had any questions. Jonah was the first one to raise his hand. "I have two dogs; one is big and one is little. I think my big dog is jealous of my little dog, especially when the little one cuddles with me on the couch. Is that really possible?"

"Hmmmm......" the teacher said; tapping her chin with her finger. "That is a GOOD question and one that deserves an answer. Let me do some research and we'll discuss it in class tomorrow."

"Good question," Jonah heard the other kids whispering to each other.

That evening, after dinner, Jonah reclined on the couch; staring at nothing in particular, when suddenly Trixie came running into the room and jumped into his lap. Peppermint looked up from her bed and stared at Trixie and Jonah. 'I wish I were a lap dog,' she thought.

Jonah stared into Peppermint's eyes. 'She looks SO sad,' he thought.

The next day in school, Jonah's teacher paced in front of the class; tapping her chin. "I did some research last night and the question Jonah brought up is a very interesting one indeed. The articles I read all agreed, it is a very intriguing question, BUT there doesn't appear to be a clear cut answer. Some of the dog experts think that they do have feelings and some think they don't. I guess there's really no way to know for sure since we can't communicate with them and they can't really make expressions on their faces," she reported.

Jonah raised his hand to comment. "Yes Jonah, you wanted to say something," his teacher asked.

"Yes, well I have been studying my dogs' behavior. The big one doesn't make any faces exactly, but she still seems sad to me; like she stares at my little dog Trixe and then turns her head and sighs quite loudly and that's why I think she's sad."

"Well, you could be right, but I don't know that we can ever know for certain," the teacher replied.

After school that day Jonah cuddled with Trixie on the couch, as he usually did, while Peppermint lay sleeping in her bed. Suddenly Trixie got a burst of energy and flew off the couch. She ran over to Peppermint and quickly licked her face; her tail wagging vigorously, until Peppermint woke up. Trixie continued behaving playfully, while Peppermint just laid there staring. 'I wish I were like Trixie,' Peppermint thought, as she turned her head and sighed loudly. Jonah got up and sat on the floor next to Peppermint. He stroked her soft brown fur. She looked up at him and put her head on his knee. 'Wow, this is nice,' she thought. 'IF I were a cat, I would surely be purring!'

"Awwww, Peppermint is a nice girl!" Jonah exclaimed, as he continued to pet his big dog. Suddenly, Trixie appeared at Jonah's elbow. She forced her head under his arm and lifted her head. "I think we have a jealous little doggie here Peppermint!" Jonah shouted. He stroked his dogs at the same time. "I'm convinced I'm right about this. Trixie, you are just gonna have to share my attention with Peppermint from now on. It may not be as comfy as lying on the couch, but Peppermint deserves some lovin too!"

'Yeah, yeah, yeah; well at least I'M the lap dog around here,' Trixie thought.

Before he fell asleep that night, Jonah made a decision for his future: 'I'm gonna be a dog expert when I grow up, either a trainer or a scientist........I just gotta prove to the world that dog's have feelings,' he thought. Then he fell asleep. He began dreaming of a crowd of people cheering for him, as he stood on a large stage and accepted an award for discovering and proving to the world that dogs do indeed, have feelings too.