Take it. Please. I insist.

Yesterday, Deborah came by with Ray's supermodel girlfriend, Halle. Gregg was sitting on the front porch and I was standing at the front door holding it open. As Halle got even with our house, her ears pricked straight up and she did a little skip. Deborah let go of Halle's leash and Halle scampered up to the door and into the house. Ray, who had been standing at the front door with a bone in his mouth trying to entice me in, turned an excited circle on the floor. His girlfriend had come to see HIM.

Still holding the bone in his mouth, Ray excitedly tried to get Halle to play. He did a little bow and a little jump. Halle ignored him (she doesn't know how to play). Ray bowed again, staying in position with his tail wagging madly. Halle, acting bored, found Ray's food bowl and helped herself to a snack. Ray pranced around in the background with his bone. Halle ignored him.

She went to his toybox where she had found a magical rib bone the last time she had visited, then spied Ray's long, tubular, dried cow-part laying on the rug nearby. She happily picked it up and settled down for a chew.

Ray stood nervously by with his bone in his mouth, listening. Once he was sure that Halle wasn't planning a sneak attack on him, Ray left the supermodel to her Twiggy-sized bone and settled down next to her with his more manly-sized rawhide.

They chewed in companionable silence (except for typical gnawing noises), their tails crossed romantically, while Deborah and I chatted.

It didn't take Halle long to chew the dried cow-part down to a nub. Deborah clipped the leggy greyhound to her leash and got ready to leave.

"You might as well take that with you," I said, pointing to the remaining 3 or 4 inches of the soggy, icky thing.

Deborah gingerly picked up the cow-part and dangled it between thumb and forefinger.

"I'm pretty sure Ray won't miss it," I said, knowing that he would want his special girlfriend to have the rest of it as a parting gift.

And, really, what girl wouldn't be impressed at the selfless act of a hound dog giving up a long, thin, tubular, dried cow-part.