Orly and Dotty are both grappling with the inescapable truth that life is not fair.

Now that Dotty has her service-dog-in-training cape, I sometimes take her with me when I run errands or go out to eat. Orly stays home.

Not fair! Orly sulks and refuses to greet us when we return.

This morning it was even worse: Dotty got to go to the river and have her photo taken, a process which involves many treats. Orly again stayed home. Dotty came back happy and mud-covered, reeking of the good treats. NOT FAIR.

Orly got her own special walk afterward, while Dotty stayed home (in her crate with a chew toy). Orly seemed mollified after that and is again sweetly cuddling with her “little” sister (they are now the same size … a phenomenon that won’t last a full week before the little sister overtakes the big sister).

Oddly enough, though, Orly’s sense of fairness is unperturbed when Orly gets to go off hiking — and Dotty is the one left behind. Each time, Dotty rushes to greet the Missoula Dog Mom, hoping that today will be the day — she is sure it’s coming — that she gets to go. She wouldn’t even mind if Orly also went. She just wants to go!

Nope, not today. Orly swishes her tail grandly as she exits, leaving sad Dotty home with boring old Mom and her many meetings.

Dotty’s loud demands, more frequent while Orly is out — requests for food, attention, outside time, inside time, cuddles — may be a cry for justice. Her sense of fairness, like Orly’s, seems to mostly consist of a keen awareness of the times she’s on the receiving end of injustice.

And to give both girls their due, they treat each other fairly. They take turns “winning” tug games and wrestling matches and being the chaser vs. the chasee in the yard. They share toys, amicably chew beef bones next to one another, and let each other eat in peace. As I well know, that is not always the case, even with the most loving doggy siblings.

Perhaps calm acceptance of unequal treatment is a question of maturity, temperament, and time; it’s certainly the case that not all humans get there as children or teens ( … or ever).