I’m doing my taxes at my desk when Fleegle nose bumps my leg. “Pet me.”

I give him a lame pat on the head. “I’m kind of busy.”

“So what? Pet me.”

I scratch his back. “Go find something to do. I need to finish this.”

“No you don’t. Pet me.”

“It’s my taxes. I have to get them in the mail by midnight or they’ll be late.”

“Plenty of time. Pet me.”

“Seriously, Fleegle, I have to do this.”

He leaves the room but returns a moment later with his ball and drops it in my lap on top of my tax form. “Here’s my ball. Isn’t it nice? Look how gooey I’ve made it. How do you feel now? The ball makes everything better, even taxes.”

“And gooey. Do you think the IRS computers can read through dog drool?” The ball rolls across the page onto the floor. “Those might be deductible. You go through enough of them.”

“No, they’re not, but they’re tax exempt because I find them at the park and they’re free.”

Next: Negotiating with Cookies #25 – Christmas Card

Previous: Negotiating with Cookies #23 – Bribery

Start at the beginning: Negotiating with Cookies #1 – Stinky Butt